dill  (Jill  Id 

Atonal 
llity 


LIBRARY 

UNIVth^n  ,-  OF 
CALIfORNIA 

I       SAN  DIEGO 


. 


u 


The  larrMaclaren  Year-Book 


SanWaelarB 


Copyright,  r8<)4,  r8qs,  i8t)b,  1897, 
BY  DODD,  MEAD   AND   COMPANY. 


Copyright,  rSgj,  7^96, 
BY  JOHN  WATSON. 


SSnttoersito  39ra» : 
JOHN  WILSON  AND  SON,  CAMBRIDGE,  U.  S.  A. 


TARUMTOCHTY  in  its  length,  which  was 
J_v  eight  miles,  and  its  breadth,  which  was 
four,  lay  in  his  hand  ;  besides  a  glen  behind, 
unknown  to  the  world,  which  in  the  night 
time  he  visited  at  the  risk  of  life,  for  the  way 
thereto  was  across  the  big  moor  with  its  peat 
holes  and  treacherous  bogs.  And  he  held  the 
land  eastwards  towards  Muirtown  so  far  as  the 
Drumtochty  post  travelled  every  day,  and 
could  carry  word  that  the  doctor  was  wanted. 
He  did  his  best  for  the  need  of  every  man, 
woman,  and  child  in  this  wild,  straggling  dis- 
trict, year  in,  year  out,  in  the  snow  and  in  the 
heat,  in  the  dark  and  in  the  light,  without 
rest,  and  without  holiday  for  forty  years. 

A  Doctor  of  the  Old  School. 


January 


HE  could  not  make  townspeople  understand 
the  unutterable  satisfaction  of  the 
country  minister,  who  even  from  old  age  and 
great  cities  looks  back  with  fond  regret  to  his 
first  parish  on  the  slope  of  the  Grampians. 
Some  kindly  host  wrestles  with  him  to  stay  a 
few  days  more  in  civilisation,  and  pledges  him 
to  run  up  whenever  he  wearies  of  his  exile,  and 
the  ungrateful  rustic  can  hardly  conceal  the  joy 
of  his  escape.  He  shudders  on  the  way  to  the 
station  at  the  drip  of  the  dirty  sleet  and  the 
rags  of  the  shivering  poor,  and  the  restless  faces 
of  the  men  and  the  unceasing  roar  of  the  traffic. 
Where  he  is  going  the  white  snow  is  falling 
gently  on  the  road,  a  cart  full  of  sweet-smelling 
roots  is  moving  on  velvet,  the  driver  stops  to 
exchange  views  with  a  farmer  who  has  been 
feeding  his  sheep,  within  the  humblest  cottage 
the  fire  is  burning  clearly.  With  every  mile 
northwards  the  Glenman's  heart  lifts  ;  and  as 
he  lands  on  his  far-away  little  station,  he  draws 
a  deep  breath  of  the  clean,  wholesome  air.  It 
is  a  long  walk  through  the  snow,  but  there  is  a 
kindly,  couthy  smell  from  the  woods,  and  at 
sight  of  the  squares  of  light  in  his  home,  weari- 
ness departs  from  a  Drumtochty  man. 

Kate  Carnegie. 


January  I 

r  I  ^HE  world  had  its  own  idea  of  blessedness. 
_L  Blessed  is  the  man  who  is  always  right. 
Blessed  is  the  man  who  is  satisfied  with  himself. 
Blessed  is  the  man  who  is  strong.  Blessed  is 
the  man  who  rules.  Blessed  is  the  man  who 
is  rich.  Blessed  is  the  man  who  is  popular. 
Blessed  is  the  man  who  enjoys  life.  These  are 
the  beatitudes  of  sight  and  this  present  world. 
It  comes  with  a  shock  and  opens  a  new  realm 
of  thought,  that  not  one  of  these  men  entered 
Jesus'  mind  when  He  treated  of  blessedness. 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 
* 

January  2 

"T)LESSED,"  said  Jesus,  "  is  the  man  who 
JD  thinks  lowly  of  himself;  who  has 
passed  through  great  trials  ;  who  gives  in  and 
endures  ;  who  longs  for  perfection  ;  who  carries 
a  tender  heart  ;  who  has  a  passion  for  holiness  ; 
who  sweetens  human  life  ;  who  dares  to  be 
true  to  conscience."  What  a  conception  of 
character  !  Blessed  are  the  humble,  the  peni- 
tents, the  victims,  the  mystics,  the  philanthro- 
pists, the  saints,  the  mediators,  the  confessors. 
For  the  first  time  a  halo  rests  on  gentleness, 
patience,  kindness,  and  sanctity,  and  the  eight 
men  of  the  beatitudes  divide  the  kingdom  of 
God. 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


January  3 

ON  the  first  Sabbath  of  the  year  the  people 
were  in  the  second  verse  of  the  Hundredth 
Psalm,  when  Milton,  with  his  family,  came 
into  the  kirk  and  took  possession  of  their  pew. 
Hillocks  maintained  an  unobtrusive  but  vigi- 
lant watch,  and  had  no  fault  to  find  this  time 
with  Milton.  The  doctor  preached  on  the 
Law  of  Love,  as  he  had  a  way  of  doing  at 
the  beginning  of  each  year,  and  was  quite 
unguarded  in  his  eulogium  of  brotherly  kind- 
ness, but  Milton  did  not  seem  to  find  anything 
wrong  in  the  sermon.  Four  times  —  Hillocks 
kept  close  to  facts  —  he  nodded  in  grave  ap- 
proval, and  once,  when  the  doctor  insisted 
with  great  force  that  love  did  more  than  every 
power  to  make  men  good,  Milton  was  evidently 
carried,  and  blew  his  nose  needlessly. 

The  Days  of  A  tild  Lang  Syne. 

> 

January  4 

"  \7OU  Ml  not  leave  without  breakin'  bread  ; 
JL  it 's  little  we  hae,  but  we  can  offer  ye  oat- 
cake an1  milk  in  token  o'  oor  loyalty."  And 
then  Bell  brought  the  elements  of  Scottish  food  ; 
and  when  Marjorie's  lips  moved  in  prayer  as 
they  ate,  it  seemed  to  Carnegie  and  his  daughter 
like  a  sacrament.  So  the  two  went  from  the 
fellowship  of  the  poor  to  their  ancient  house. 

Kate  Carnegie. 


January  5 

JESUS  nowhere  commanded  that  one  cling 
to  His  Cross,  He  everywhere  commanded 
that  one  carry  His  Cross,  and  out  of  this  daily 
crucifixion  has  been  born  the  most  beautiful 
sainthood  from  St.  Paul  to  St.  Francis,  from 
A  Kempis  to  George  Herbert.  For  '« there  is 
no  salvation  of  the  soul  nor  hope  of  everlasting 
life  but  in  the  Cross." 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


January  6 

r  I  "HAT  minister  who  receives  a  body  of 
-L  people  more  or  less  cast  down,  and 
wearied  in  the  great  battle  of  the  soul,  and 
sends  them  forth  full  of  good  cheer  and  enthu- 
siasm, has  done  his  work  and  deserved  well  of 
his  people.  He  has  shown  himself  a  true 
shepherd,  and  he  had  not  done  this  service 
without  knowing  both  the  Will  of  God  and 
the  life  of  man,  without  draining  a  wide  water- 
shed of  experience  —  from  high  hills  where  the 
soul  has  been  alone  with  God,  and  from  deep 
valleys  where  the  soul  has  tasted  the  agonies  of 
life  —  into  the  stream  that  shall  be  the  motive 
power  of  many  lives  on  the  plains  beneath. 

The  Cure  of  Souls, 


January  7 

/CERTAINLY  it  must  be  useful  for  prac- 
V — •  tical  men,  whose  life-work  is  to  be 
preaching,  to  compare  notes  on  the  various 
methods  of  preparation,  believing  that  as  the 
blessing  of  the  Divine  Spirit  will  only  rest  on 
the  outcome  of"  hard,  honest  work,  the  more 
thorough  and  skilful  that  work  is,  the  more 
likely  is  it  to  be  crowned  with  prosperity. 

The  Cure  of  Souls. 
* 

January  8 

TV  T  EXT  Sabbath  the  kirkyard  was  thrown  into 
IN  a  state  approaching  excitement  by  Jamie 
Soutar,  who,  in  the  course  of  some  remarks  on 
the  prospects  of  harvest,  casually  mentioned 
that  Burnbrae  had  been  refused  his  lease,  and 
would  be  leaving  Drumtochty  at  Martinmas. 

"What  for?"  said  Drumsheugh  sharply; 
while  Hillocks,  who  had  been  offering  his  box 
to  Whinnie,  remained  with  outstretched  arm. 

"  Naethin'  that  ye  wud  expeck,  but  juist 
some  bit  differ  wi'  the  new  factor  aboot  leavin' 
his  kirk  an'  jining  the  lave  o'  us  in  the  Auld 
Kirk.  Noo,  if  it  hed  been  ower  a  cattle  reed 
ye  cud  hae  understude  it,  but  for  a  man  —  " 

"  Nae  mair  o'  yir  havers,  Jamie,"  broke  in 
Drumsheugh,  "and  keep  yir  tongue  aff  Burn- 
brae  ;  man,  ye  gied  me  a  fricht." 

The  Days  of  Auld  Lang  Syne. 


January  9 

WHEN  one  is  richly  endowed  and  carefully 
trained,  and  has  come  to  the  zenith  of 
his  power,  his  sudden  removal  seems  a  reflec- 
tion on  the  economy  of  God's  kingdom.  Why 
call  this  man  to  the  choir  celestial  when  he  is  so 
much  needed  in  active  service  ?  According  to 
Jesus,  he  has  not  sunk  into  inaction,  so  much 
subtracted  from  the  forces  of  righteousness. 
He  has  gone  where  the  fetters  of  this  body  of 
humiliation  and  embarrassment  of  adverse  cir- 
cumstances shall  be  no  longer  felt.  We  must 
not  think  of  him  as  withdrawn  from  the  field  ; 
we  must  imagine  him  as  in  the  van  of  battle. 
We  must  follow  him,  our  friend,  with  hope 
and  a  high  heart.  The  Mind  of  the  Master. 

* 

January  10 

NO  man  knew  what  the  minister  of  Kilbogie 
might  not  ask  —  he  was  only  perfectly 
certain  that  it  would  be  beyond  his  knowledge  ; 
but  as  Saunderson  always  gave  the  answer 
himself  in  the  end,  and  imputed  it  to  the  stu- 
dent, anxiety  was  reduced  to  a  minimum. 
Saunderson,  indeed,  was  in  the  custom  of  pass- 
ing all  candidates  and  reporting  them  as  mar- 
vels of  erudition,  whose  only  fault  was  a 
becoming  modesty  —  which,  however,  had  not 
concealed  from  his  keen  eye  hidden  treasures 
of  learning.  Kate  Carnegie. 


January  n 

WHEN  a  prophet  and  his  environment  are 
adjusted,  his  speeches  are  re-issued 
with  illustrations  which  have  a  very  practical 
application  to  our  day  :  when  the  Book  of 
Ecclesiastes  is  referred  to  the  days  of  the  third 
century  B.C.  then  its  note  is  caught,  and  any 
man  who  has  been  wronged  and  embittered  by 
political  tyranny  and  social  corruption  has  his 
bitter  cry  included  in  the  Book  of  God. 

The  Cure  of  Souls. 
* 

January  12 

ye  mean  tae  say,"  as  soon  as  Mains 
had  recovered,  "  that  ye  *ve  brocht 
naethin'  for  the  manse  but  bukes,  naither  bed 
nor  bedding?  Keep's  a',"  as  the  situation 
grew  upon  him,  "  whar  are  ye  tae  sleep,  and 
what  are  ye  tae  sit  on  ?  An"  div  ye  never  eat  ? 
This  croons  a';"  and  Mains  gazed  at  his  new 
minister  as  one  who  supposed  that  he  had  taken 
Jeremiah's  measure  and  had  failed  utterly. 

" Mea  culpa  —  it's  .  .  .  my  blame,"  and 
Saunderson  was  evidently  humbled  at  this 
public  exposure  of  his  incapacity  ;  «'  some  slight 
furnishing  will  be  expedient,  even  necessary, 
and  I  have  a  plan  for  book-shelves  in  my  head  ; 
it  is  ingenious  and  convenient,  and  if  there  is  a 

worker  in  wood  .   .   ." 

Kate  Carnegie. 


January  13 


IT  is  a  necessity  of  the  human  mind  to  theo- 
rise about  truth  ;  it  is  a  calamity  to  sub- 
stitute theories  for  truth.  One  almost  despairs 
at  times  because  we  seem  the  victims  of  an 
irresistible  tendency  to  ignore  the  real,  and  to 
be  content  with  the  artificial.  No  sooner  has 
some  man  of  genius  painted  a  picture  or  con- 
ceived a  poem,  or  even  made  a  speech  with 
moral  intention,  than  people  set  themselves  to 
invent  amazing  meanings  and  applications,  and 
raise  such  a  dust  of  controversy  that  the  original 
effect  is  utterly  lost.  The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


January  14 


RANTED  that  some  people  go  to  church 
to  whom  worship  must  be  a  vain  show, 
and  that  others  remain  at  home  to  whom  it  is  a 
spiritual  reality,  it  were  quite  absurd  to  divide 
people  into  public  worshippers  who  are  profes- 
sional hypocrites,  and  private  worshippers  who 
are  unattached  saints.  As  a  bare  matter  of 
fact,  believing  people  do,  as  a  rule,  go  to  church, 
and  unbelieving  people,  as  a  rule,  do  not  :  and 
in  order  to  show  that  one  is  not  using  faith  in  a 
dogmatic  but  a  vigorous  sense,  it  may  be  suffi- 
cient to  point  out  that  on  the  Church  —  her 
teaching,  her  influence,  her  example  —  the  whole 
system  of  charity  and  philanthropy  depends  in 
the  Western  world.  The  Cure  0/Stnth. 


January   1 5 

IT  seemed  to  me,  watching  things  in  Drum- 
tochty  during  those  days  with  an  impartial 
mind,  that  the  Doctor,  with  his  care  for  the 
poor,  his  sympathy  for  the  oppressed,  his  inter- 
est in  everything  human,  his  shrewd,  practical 
wisdom,  and  his  wide  toleration,  was  the  very 
ideal  of  the  parish  clergyman.  He  showed  me 
much  courtesy  while  I  lived  in  the  Cottage, 
although  I  did  not  belong  to  his  communion  ; 
and  as  my  imagination  re-constructs  the  old 
parish  of  a  winter  night  by  the  fire,  I  miss  him 
as  he  used  to  be  on  the  road,  in  the  people's 
homes,  in  his  pulpit,  among  his  books  —  ever 
an  honourable  and  kind-hearted  gentleman. 

Kate  Carnegie. 
* 

January  16 

IT  might  well  seem  that  the  using  of  his  room 
were  enough  guerdon,  but  Jesus  had  still 
something  in  store  for  His  friend.  The  last 
time  they  met  beneath  the  olives  the  goodman 
had  pledged  Jesus  to  come  to  his  house  before 
He  went  to  the  Cross,  and  Jesus  had  kept  the 
tryst,  as  all  the  Church  of  God  below  knoweth  ; 
and  then  before  they  parted  Jesus  would  pledge 
the  goodman  to  visit  Him  in  His  house  after  he 
was  done  with  earth,  and  one  day  the  goodman 
kept  this  other  tryst,  as  the  Church  of  God 
above  knoweth.  The  Upper  Room. 


January  17 

"  "\  T  7"HAT  richt  hes  ony  man  tae  hand  ower 
V  V  the  families  that  hev  been  on  his  es- 
tate afore  he  wes  born  tae  be  harried  an'  in- 
sulted by  some  domineering  upstart  o1  a  factor, 
an'  then  tae  spend  the  money  wrung  frae  the 
land  by  honest  fouks  among  strangers  and 
foreigners  ? 

"What  ails  the  landlords  that  they  wunna 
live  amang  their  ain  people  and  oversee  their 
ain  affairs,  so  that  laird  and  farmer  can  mak 
their  bargain  wi'  nae  time-serving  interloper 
atween,  an'  the  puirest  cottar  on  an  estate  hae 
the  richt  tae  see  the  man  on  whose  lands  he 
lives,  as  did  his  fathers  before  him  ?" 

The  Days  of  Auld  Lang  Syne. 


January  18 

/"CHRIST'S  minister  must,  at  the  same  time, 
\^,  remember  that  he  is  the  representative  of 
the  Carpenter  of  Nazareth,  Who  had  a  very 
tender  compassion  for  the  proletariat,  and  by 
this  Spirit  has  led  them  all  those  years  through 
the  wilderness  to  the  borders  of  the  Promised 
Land,  and  that  he  is  the  legitimate  successor  of 
those  Hebrew  Prophets  who  were  the  cham- 
pions of  the  poor  and  the  uncompromising 
enemies  of  tyrannical  wealth. 

The  Cure  of  Souls. 


January  19 

ANY  other  man  born  at  the  beginning  of 
the  first  century  could  be  dropped  into 
his  class,  but  Jesus  defied  classification.  As 
He  moved  among  the  synagogues  of  Galilee, 
He  was  an  endless  perplexity.  One  could 
never  anticipate  Him.  One  was  in  despair  to 
explain  Him.  Whence  is  He  ?  the  people 
whispered  with  a  vague  sense  of  the  problem, 
for  He  marked  the  introduction  of  a  new  form 
of  life.  He  was  not  referable  to  type  :  He  was 
the  beginning  of  a  time.  The  Mind  offkt  Master. 


January  20 

HE  was  a  head  to  every  widow,  and  a  father 
to  the  orphans,  and  the  friend  of  all 
lowly,  discouraged,  unsuccessful  souls.  Ten 
miles  away  people  did  not  know  his  name,  but 
his  own  congregation  regarded  no  other,  and  in 
the  Lord's  presence,  it  was  well  known,  it  was 
often  mentioned  ;  when  he  laid  down  his  trust, 
and  arrived  on  the  other  side,  many  whom  he 
had  fed  and  guided,  and  restored  and  com- 
forted, till  he  saw  them  through  the  gates, 
were  waiting  to  receive  their  shepherd-minister, 
and  as  they  stood  around  him  before  the  Lord, 
he,  of  all  men,  could  say  without  shame,  "Be- 
hold, Lord,  Thine  under-shepherd,  and  the 
flock  Thou  didst  give  me."  T}lf  CureofSouh. 


January  21 

ONE  may  walk  in  the  light  and  know  noth- 
ing of  astronomy,  as  did  St.  Thomas, 
who  was  practically  a  slave  of  Jesus  and  doc- 
trinally  a  sceptic  concerning  Christ.  One  may 
have  studied  astronomy  and  walk  in  darkness, 
as  did  the  Pharisees,  who  were  accomplished  in 
doctrine  and  sent  Jesus  to  the  Cross. 

The  Cure  of  Souls. 
* 

January  22 

"  "T^OR  twa  hundred  years  an'  mair  there's 
_L  been  a  Baxter  at  Burnbrae  and  a  Hay 
at  Kilspindie  ;  ane  wes  juist  a  workin'  farmer, 
an1  the  ither  a  belted  earl,  but  gude  freends  an' 
faithfu';  an',  ma  Lord,  Burnbrae  wes  as  dear 
tae  oor  fouk  as  the  castle  wes  tae  yours. 

"  A'  mind  that  day  the  Viscount  cam  o' 
age,  an'  we  gaithered  tae  wush  him  weel,  that 
a'  saw  the  pictures  o'  the  auld  Hays  on  yir 
walls,  an'  thocht  hoo  mony  were  the  ties  that 
bund  ye  tae  yir  hame. 

"We  haena  pictures  nor  gowden  treasures, 
but  there  's  an'  auld  chair  at  oor  fireside,  an'  a' 
saw  ma  grandfather  in  it  when  a*  wes  a  laddie 
at  the  schule,  an'  a'  mind  him  tellin'  me  that 
his  grandfather  hed  sat  in  it  lang  afore.  It  *s 
no'  worth  muckle,  an'  it's  been  often  mended, 
but  a '11  no'  like  tae  see  it  carried  oot  frae 
Burnbrae. ' '  Tke  Days  Of  Auld  Lang  Syne. 


January  23 

WITH  Jesus  the  present  was  ever  eclipsed 
by  the  future,  so  that  while  the  multi- 
tude would  have  made  Him  a  King,  He  saw 
Himself  forsaken  on  a  cross  ;  and  while  He 
was  about  to  be  crucified,  He  was  promising  to 
return  for  the  judgment  of  the  world.  He  set 
His  face  steadfastly,  lifted  above  the  ebb  and 
flow  of  circumstances,  because  the  Divine  Will 
was  ever  revealing  itself,  peak  above  peak,  to 
the  ages  of  ages.  The  Mind  Ofthe  Master. 

* 

January  24 

"  TT'S  a  strange  buik  the  Bible,  and  no  the 
-L  buik  we  wud  hae  made,  tae  judge  by 
oor  bit  creeds  and  confessions.  It 's  like  a 
head  o'  aits  in  the  harvest  time.  There's  the 
ear  that  hauds  the  grain  and  keeps  it  safe,  and 
that's  the  history,  and  there's  often  no  mickle 
nutriment  in  it  $  then  there  's  the  corn  lying  in 
the  ear,  which  is  the  Evangel  frae  Eden  tae 
Revelation,  and  that  is  the  bread  o'  the  soul. 
But  the  corn  maun  be  threshed  first  and  the  cauf 
(chaff)  cleaned  aff.  It 's  a  bonnie  sicht  tae  see 
the  pure  grain  fallin'  like  a  rinnin'  burn  on  the 
corn-room  floor,  and  a  glint  o'  the  sun  through 
the  window  turning  it  intae  gold.  But  the  stour 
(dust)  o'  the  cauf  room  is  mair  than  onybody  can 
abide,  and  the  cauf 's  worth  naethin'  when  the 
corn  *  S  awa. ' '  Beside  the  Bonnie  Drier  Bush. 


January  25 

/^~~*ARMICHAEL'S  predecessor  was  minis- 
v_^  ter  of  the  Free  Church  in  those  days, 
who  afterwards  got  University  preferment  —  he 
wrote  a  book  on  the  Greek  particles,  much 
tasted  in  certain  circles  —  and  is  still  called 
"the  Professor"  in  a  hushed  voice  by  old 
people.  He  was  so  learned  a  scholar  that  he 
would  go  out  to  visit  without  his  hat,  and  so 
shy  that  he  could  walk  to  Kildrummie  with  one 
of  his  people  on  the  strength  of  two  observa- 
tions, the  first  at  Tochty  bridge  and  the  other 
at  the  crest  of  the  hill  above  the  station.  Lach- 
lan  himself  did  not  presume  at  times  to  under- 
stand his  sermons,  but  the  Free  Church  loved 
their  scholar,  for  they  knew  the  piety  and 
courage  that  dwelt  in  the  man. 

The  Days  of  Auld Lang  Syne. 

# 

January  26 

IT  is  not  for  him  to  stir  up  strife  between 
classes,  but  to  make  peace,  yet  if  in  any 
critical  conflict  between  the  poor  and  the  rich 
the  minister  of  Jesus  sides  with  the  strongest, 
then  hath  he  broken  his  commission  and  for- 
saken his  Master.  If  the  Church  of  the  Naza- 
rene  lift  not  up  her  voice  on  behalf  of  those 
who  "  labour  and  are  heavy  laden,"  and  is  not  a 
refuge  for  the  poor  and  friendless,  what  good  is 
she  on  the  face  of  the  earth  ?  -p/ie  £ure  0fSouls. 


January  27 


is  nothing  on  which  we  differ  so 
-L  hopelessly  as  creed,  nothing  on  which 
we  agree  so  utterly  as  character.  Impanel 
twelve  men  of  clean  conscience  and  average 
intelligence  and  ask  them  to  try  some  person 
by  his  opinions,  and  they  may  as  well  be  dis- 
charged at  once  :  they  will  not  agree  till  the 
Greek  Kalends.  Ask  them  to  take  the  stand- 
ard of  conduct,  and  they  will  bring  in  a  verdict 
in  five  minutes.  Tlte  Mind  oftke  MasUr. 


January  28 

HE  is  unfortunate  whose  thoughts  are  un- 
touched by  poetry  and  unfortified  by 
ancient  wisdom,  over  whose  study  the  sky  is 
ever  grey  and  dull.  An  idea  may  be  his,  but 
his  impression  of  it  will  be  cold  and  colourless. 
On  the  other  hand,  he  must  have  some  reserve 
and  self-denial  on  whose  mind  the  sun  beats 
strongly.  It  is  possible  to  confuse  and  blot 
out  an  idea  by  excess  of  light,  so  that  amid 
pictures,  rivers,  pyramids,  sunsets,  science, 
poetry,  history,  and  drama,  the  hearer  does  not 
catch  the  one  message  that  the  preacher  had  for 
his  soul.  One  blind  after  another  has  to  be 
pulled  down  on  certain  brilliant  and  opulent 
minds  before  an  idea,  however  grand  and 
august,  has  its  right  place.  The  Cure  of  Souls. 


January  29 

«  T  T  TAB'S  me,  wha  will  care  for  her  grave 

VV  when  we're  far  awa  an'  no'  a  Bax- 
ter left  in  the  Glen?"  .  .  . 

The  past  with  the  tender  associations  that 
make  a  woman's  life  was  tightening  its  hold  on 
Jean,  and  when  they  looked  down  on  the  Glen 
from  the  height  of  Burnbrae,  her  voice  broke 
again,  — 

"It's  a  bonnie  sicht,  John,  an'  kindly  tae 
oor  eyes;  we'll  never  see  anither  tae  sateesfy 
oor  auld  age." 

"A've  seen  nae  ither  a'  ma  days,"  said 
Burnbrae,  "an'  there  can  be  nane  sae  dear  tae 
me  noo  in  this  warld  ;  but  it  can  be  boucht 
ower  dear,  lass,"  and  when  she  looked  at  him, 
"wi'  oor  souls,  Jean,  wi'  oor  souls." 

The  Days  of  A  uld  Lang  Syne. 
* 

January  30 

SUPPOSE  by  the  insistence  of  the  Church 
it  could  be  brought  to  pass  —  which  is 
a  vain  expectation  —  that  every  man  should,  in 
any  measurable  period  of  time,  be  well  fed  and 
dressed  and  housed,  should  be  free  from  disease, 
idleness,  weariness,  should  have  equal  rights, 
privileges,  opportunities  with  his  neighbour, 
then  this  bread-and-butter  paradise  were  a  poor 
exchange  for  the  Eternal  Hope. 

The  Cure  of  Smth. 


January  31 

THE  footpath  from  the  doctor's  to  Whinnie 
Knowe  passed  along  the  front  of  the  hill 
above  the  farm  of  Drumsheugh,  and  Marget 
came  to  the  cottage  where  she  had  lived  with 
her  mother  in  the  former  time.  It  was  empty, 
and  she  went  into  the  kitchen.  How  home- 
like it  had  been  in  those  days,  and  warm,  even 
in  winter,  for  Drumsheugh  had  made  the  wright 
board  over  the  roof  and  put  in  new  windows. 
Her  mother  was  never  weary  speaking  of  his 
kindness,  yet  they  were  only  working  people. 
The  snow  had  drifted  down  the  wide  chimney 
and  lay  in  a  heap  on  the  hearth,  and  Marget 
shivered.  The  sorrow  of  life  came  upon  her 
— the  mother  and  the  son  now  lying  in  the 
kirkyard.  Then  the  blood  rushed  to  her  heart 
again,  for  love  endures  and  triumphs.  But 
sorrow  without  love  .  .  .  her  thoughts  returned 
to  Drumsheugh,  whose  hearth-stone  was  cold 
indeed.  She  was  now  looking  down  on  his 
home,  set  in  the  midst  of  the  snow.  Its  cheer- 
lessness  appealed  to  her  —  the  grey,  sombre 
house  where  this  man,  with  his  wealth  of  love, 
lived  alone. 

The  Days  of  Aidd  Lang  Syne. 


February 


WITH  the  first  plunge  into  the  bed  of  the 
stream  the  water  rose  to  the  axles,  and 
then  it  crept  up  to  the  shafts,  so  that  the  sur- 
geon could  feel  it  lapping  in  about  his  feet, 
while  the  dogcart  began  to  quiver,  and  it  seemed 
as  if  it  were  to  be  carried  away.  Sir  George 
was  as  brave  as  most  men,  but  he  had  never 
forded  a  Highland  river  in  flood,  and  the  mass 
of  black  water  racing  past  beneath,  before,  be- 
hind him,  affected  his  imagination  and  shook 
his  nerves.  He  rose  from  his  seat  and  ordered 
MacLure  to  turn  back,  declaring  that  he  would 
be  condemned  utterly  and  eternally  if  he  allowed 
himself  to  be  drowned  for  any  person. 

"Sit  doon,"  thundered  MacLure;  "con- 
demned ye  will  be  suner  or  later  gin  ye  shirk 
yir  duty,  but  through  the  water  ye  gang  the 
day." 

Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier  Busk. 


February  i 

"  "D  UT  ye  cudna  ca'  Burnbrae  a  shairp  busi- 

JD  ness  man,"  said  Jamie  Soutar  critically  ; 
"he  keepit  Jess  Stewart  daein'  naething  for  five 
year,  and  gared  her  believe  she  wes  that  usefu' 
he  cudna  want  her,  because  Jess  wud  suner  hae 
dee'd  than  gaen  on  the  pairish. 

'*  As  for  puir  fouk,  he  wes  clean  redeeklus  ; 
there  wesna  a  weedow  in  the  Glen  didna  get  her 
seed  frae  him  in  a  bad  year.  He  hed  abeelity 
in  gaitherin',  but  he  wes  wastfu'  in  spendin'. 

"Hooever,  he's  gane  noo,  an'  we  maunna 
be  sayin'  ill  o'  the  deed ;  it 's  no'  what  he  wud 
hae  dune  himsel'.  Whatna  day's  thebeerial?" 
inquired  Jamie  anxiously. 

"Beerial?  Losh  preserve 's,  Jamie,"  began 
Hillocks,  but  Drumsheugh  understood. 

The  Days  of  A  uld  Lang  Syne. 
* 

February  2 

THE  trend  of  the  graver  intelligence  among 
the  public  is  evident,  and  it  is  distinctly 
towards  those  great  questions  which  form  the 
substance  of  the  Christian  faith,  and  lie  at  the 
foundation  of  religion.  People  will  lie  be- 
calmed in  morals,  and  even  in  physical  science, 
weary  unto  death,  but  if  any  one  dares  to  deal 
with  questions  of  faith  after  an  understanding 
fashion,  he  has  the  wind  with  him. 

The  Cure  of  Souls. 


February  3 

"\  T  7  OMEN  noticed  that  Carmichael  bore  him- 
V  V  self  to  them  as  if  each  were  a  Madonna, 
and  treated  him  in  turn  according  to  their  nature. 
Some  were  abashed,  and  could  not  understand 
the  lad's  shyness  ;  those  were  saints.  Some  were 
amused,  and  suspected  him  of  sarcasm  ;  those 
were  less  than  saints.  Some  horrified  him  unto 
confusion  of  face  because  of  the  shameful  things 
they  said.  One  middle-aged  female,  whose 
conversation  oscillated  between  physiology  and 
rescue  work,  compelled  Carmichael  to  sue  for 
mercy  on  the  ground  that  he  had  not  been  accus- 
tomed to  speak  about  such  details  of  life  with  a 
woman,  and  ever  afterwards  described  him  as  a 
prude.  It  seemed  to  Carmichael  that  he  was 
disliked  by  some  women  because  he  thought 
more  highly  of  them  than  they  thought  of 
themselves.  Kate  Carnegie. 


February  4 

AN  audience  creates  an  atmosphere  which, 
after  a  little  experience,  one  can  feel  with 
such  accuracy  that  he  knows  when  they  are  with 
him  or  against  him.  Audience  and  speaker  act 
and  react  on  one  another,  so  that  a  supercilious 
and  frigid  people  can  chill  the  most  fiery  soul, 
while  a  hundred  warm-hearted  folk  can  make 
a  plain  man  eloquent.  The  Cure  of  Souls. 


February  5 

SABBATH  or  no  Sabbath,  the  Glen  cannot 
let  him  pass  without  some  tribute  of  their 
pride. 

Jess  has  recognised  friends,  and  the  doctor  is 
drawing  rein. 

"It  hes  tae  be  dune,"  said  Jamie,  desper- 
ately, "say  what  ye  like."  Then  they  all 
looked  towards  him,  and  Jamie  led. 

"Hurrah,"  swinging  his  Sabbath  hat  in  the 
air,  "hurrah,"  and  once  more,  "hurrah." 
.  .  .  As  they  passed  the  corner  of  the  kirk- 
yard,  a  figure  waved  his  college  cap  over  the 
wall  and  gave  a  cheer  on  his  own  account. 

"God  bless  you,  doctor,  and  well  done." 

Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier  Bush. 


February  6 

"'"pHEY'VE  heard  about  Saunders,  a'm 
-L  thinking  wumman,  and  they  're  pleased 
we  brocht  him  roond  ;  he  's  fairly  on  the  mend, 
ye  ken,  noo. 

"A'  never  expeckit  the  like  o'  this,  though, 
and  it  wes  juist  a  wee  thingie  mair  than  a'  cud 
hae  stude. 

"  Ye  hev  yir  share  in  't  tae,  lass  ;  we  've  hed 
mony  a  hard  nicht  and  day  thegither,  an'  yon 
wes  oor  reward.  No  mony  men  in  this  warld 
'  ill  ever  get  a  better,  for  it  cam  frae  the  hert  o' 
honest  fouk.  '  '  Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier  Bush. 


February  7 

JESUS  reigns  supreme  among  teachers  not 
only  by  the  perfection  of  His  character  but 
also  by  the  grandeur  of  His  subject.  A  prophet 
has  many  things  to  say  to  his  generation  ;  one 
only  is  his  message.  Jesus  treated  every  idea 
of  the  first  order  in  the  sphere  of  Religion  $  His 
burden  was  Life.  He  did  not  set  Himself  to 
teach  men  how  to  organise  the  state,  nor  how 
to  analyse  their  minds,  nor  how  to  discharge 
elementary  duties,  nor  how  to  form  a  science 
of  Theology.  This  was  not  because  Jesus 
despised  these  departments,  it  was  because  He 
proposed  to  dominate  them.  He  would  not 
localise  Himself  in  one  because  He  would  in- 
spire all.  Behind  the  state  is  the  individual, 
behind  the  individual  is  the  soul,  and  the  one 
question  of  the  soul  is  life. 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


February  8 

'TPHERE  are  minds  so  comprehensive  and 
J.  agile  that  they  can  play  with  half  a  dozen 
ideas  in  one  sermon  and  delight  an  audience  — 
making  one  idea  illuminate  another,  and  using 
the  combined  force  of  opposite  ideas  to  produce 
the  desired  effect ;  but  for  the  average  man 
with  whom  we  are  concerned  the  handling  of 
one  is  a  sufficient  strain.  7-^  Cure  of  Souls. 


February  9 

THE  young  minister  was  stirred  on  the  way 
to  Kilbogie,  and  began  to  dream  dreams 
in  the  twilight.  Love  had  come  suddenly  to 
him,  and  after  an  unexpected  fashion.  Miss 
Carnegie  was  of  another  rank  and  another  faith, 
nor  was  she  even  his  ideal  woman,  neither  con- 
spicuously spiritual  nor  gentle,  but  frank,  out- 
spoken, fearless,  self-willed.  He  could  also 
see  that  she  had  been  spoiled  by  her  father  and 
his  friends,  who  had  given  her  carte  blanche 
to  say  and  do  what  she  pleased.  Very  likely 
—  he  could  admit  that  even  in  the  first  blush 
of  his  emotion  —  she  might  be  passionate  and 
prejudiced  on  occasion,  even  a  fierce  hater. 

Kate  Carnegie. 


February  10 

ST.'  THERESA  had  been  the  woman  en- 
shrined in  the  tabernacle  of  his  heart,  but 
life  might  have  been  a  trifle  tiresome  if  a  man 
were  married  to  a  saint.  The  saints  have  no 
humour,  and  do  not  relax.  Life  with  a  woman 
like  Miss  Carnegie  would  be  effervescent  and 
stimulating,  full  of  surprises  and  piquancy. 
No,  she  was  not  a  saint,  but  he  felt  by  an  in- 
stinct she  was  pure,  loyal,  reverent,  and  true  at 
the  core.  She  was  a  gallant  lass,  and  ...  he 
loved  her.  Kate  Camegie._ 


February  1 1 

"TT'S  no'  Milton's  preachin'  Drumtochty 
X  disna  like,  but  his  leein',  an1  that  Drum- 
tochty canna  abide.  Nae  man,"  summed  up 
Drumsheugh,  "  hes  ony  richt  tae  speak  about 
releegion  ye  canna  trust  in  the  market." 

So  it  came  to  pass  that  Milton  counted  Drum- 
tochty as  an  outcast  place,  because  they  did  not 
speak  about  the  affairs  of  the  life  to  come,  and 
Drumtochty  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  Mil- 
ton, because  he  was  not  straight  in  the  affairs  of 
the  life  which  now  is.  The  Days  of  Auld  Lang  Syne. 

* 

February  12 

DRUMTOCHTY  was  amazed  at  her  self- 
will,  and  declared  by  the  mouth  of  Kirsty 
Stewart  that  Carmichaers  aunt  had  flown  in  the 
face  of  Providence.  Below  her  gentle  simplicity 
she  was,  however,  a  shrewd  woman,  and  was 
quite  determined  that  her  nephew  should  'not  be 
handed  over  to  the  tender  mercies  of  a  clerical 
housekeeper,  who  is  said  to  be  a  heavier  yoke 
than  the  Confession  of  Faith,  for  there  be  clever 
ways  of  escape  from  confessions,  but  none  from 
Margaret  Meiklewham  ;  and  while  all  the 
churches  are  busy  every  year  in  explaining  that 
their  Articles  do  not  mean  what  they  say,  Miss 
Meiklewham  had  a  snort  which  was  beyond 
all  she  said,  and  that  was  not  by  any  means 

restricted.  Kate  Carnegie. 


February  13 

ART,  with  an  unerring  instinct  of  moral 
beauty,  has  seized  the  Cross  and  idealised 
it.  It  is  wrought  in  gold  and  hung  from  the 
neck  of  light-hearted  beauty  ;  it  is  stamped  on 
the  costly  binding  of  Bibles  that  go  to  church 
in  carriages ;  it  stands  out  in  bold  relief  on 
churches  that  are  filled  with  easy-going  people. 
Painters  have  given  themselves  to  crucifixions, 
and  their  striking  works  are  criticised  by  per- 
sons who  praise  the  thorns  in  the  crown,  but 
are  not  quite  pleased  with  the  expression  on 
Jesus*  face,  and  then  return  to  their  pleasures. 
Composers  have  cast  the  bitter  Passion  of  Jesus 
into  stately  oratorios,  and  fashionable  audiences 
are  affected  unto  tears.  The  Mind  of  the  Master. 
* 

February  14 

WHAT  we  want  to-day  is  not  organisers, 
but  preachers ;  and  every  hindrance 
ought  to  be  removed,  that  a  man  who  can  preach 
may  have  an  opportunity  of  fulfilling  his  high 
calling.  One  Minister  laboured  for  three  years 
night  and  day,  and  when  His  ministry  was  sud- 
denly closed  He  had  only  a  roomful  of  people. 
But  one  man  was  St.  John  and  one  woman 
was  St.  Mary  Magdalene.  A  single  Raphael 
counts  more  than  hundreds  of  clever  impres- 
sionist sketches.  One  saintly  soul  reared  by  a 
patient  ministry  will  weigh  down  in  the  scales 
mobs  of  hearers.  The  Cure  of  Souls. 


February  15 

THEY  are  unworthy  of  their  profession  who 
join  in  the  Philistine  outcry  against  theol- 
ogy, and  allow  it  to  be  spoken  of  as  something 
not  worthy  of  serious  study.      If  it  be  praise- 
worthy to  classify  beetles,  and  specialists  among 
the  coleoptera  speak  solemnly  of  their  subject, 
it  may  be  allowed   for  one  science  to  reason 
regarding  God  and  the  soul.       The  Cure  ofSouh. 
* 

February  16 

HIS  coat  he  flung  east  and  his  waistcoat  west, 
as  far  as  he  could  hurl  them,  and  it  was 
plain  he  would  have  shouted  had  he  been  a  com- 
plete mile  from  Saunders'  room.  Any  less  dis- 
tance was  useless  for  adequate  expression.  He 
struckDrumsheugh  a  mighty  blow  thatwell-nigh 
levelled  that  substantial  man  in  the  dust, and  then 
the  doctor  of  Drumtochty  issued  his  bulletin. 

"  Saunders  wesna  tae  live  through  the  nicht, 
but  he's  livin'  this  meenut,  an'  like  to  live. 

"  He's  got  by  the  warst  clean  and  fair,  and 
wi'  him  that's  as  good  as  cure. 

"  It 'ill  be  a  graund  waukenin'  for  Bell;  she  'ill 
no  be  a  weedow  yet,  nor  the  bairnies  fatherless. 

"There's  nae  use  glowerin'  at  me,  Drum- 
sheugh,  for  a  body 's  daft  at  a  time,  an'  a'  canna 
contain  masel,  and  a'm  no  gaein'  tae  try." 

Then  it  dawned  upon  Drumsheugh  that  the 
doctor  was  attempting  the  Highland  fling. 

Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier  Bush. 


February  17 

SPIRITUAL  Life  is  not  a  series  of  isolated 
springs,  but  an  ocean  laving  every  shore. 
It  is  one,  and  has  its  source  in  God  ;  as  Truth 
and  Righteousness  and  Love  are  one,  and  stand 
in  God.  When  one  thinks  of  Life  in  man  as  one 
thing,  and  Life  in  God  as  another,  he  has  lost  the 
key  to  the  science  of  Life.  Nothing  deserves 
the  name  of  Life  in  us  that  cannot  be  affirmed  of 
God.  Life  in  the  soul  is  the  tide  of  the  Divine 
ocean  flowing  as  it  has  opportunity  through  the 
narrow  channels  of  human  nature.  Everything 
else  is  only  a  colourable  imitation  of  Life,  and  a 
modeof  existence.  Life  is  in  its  origin  Heavenly, 
and  Cometh  down.  Tfte  Mind  of  the  Master. 

* 

February  18 

THIS  is  the  final  test  of  all  societies  in  the 
machinery  of  the  congregation  —  do  they 
help  or  weaken  the  Church  ?  Are  they  branches 
springing  out  of  the  trunk  and  gathering  into 
their  leaves  the  air  and  light  of  heaven  —  a 
beauty  and  strength  ?  Then  let  them  be  fos- 
tered. Or  are  they  suckers  drawing  away  so 
much  of  the  sap  from  the  tree  itself?  a  luxu- 
riant, unprofitable,  mutinous  undergrowth  — 
then  let  them  be  cut  down  and  done  away  with, 
for  they  are  in  any  case  only  human  inventions, 
but  the  Church  is  of  Christ  and  the  home  of 
the  soul.  The  Cure  of  Souls. 


February  19 

"  T  T   iss  in  the  dark  that  Flora  will  be  com- 
JL      ing,  and  she  must  know  that  her  father 
iss  waiting  for  her." 

He  cleaned  and  trimmed  with  anxious  hand 
a  lamp  that  was  kept  for  show,  and  had  never 
been  used.  Then  he  selected  from  his  books 
Edwards'  "  Sinners  in  the  Hands.of  an  angry 
God,"  and  "  Coles  on  the  Divine  Sovereignty," 
and  on  them  he  laid  the  large  family  Bible  out 
of  which  Flora's  name  had  been  blotted.  This 
was  the  stand  on  which  he  set  the  lamp  in  the 
window,  and  every  night  till  Flora  returned  its 
light  shone  down  the  steep  path  that  ascended 
to  her  home,  like  the  Divine  Love  from  the 
open  door  of  our  Father's  House. 

Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier  Bush. 

£ 

February  20 

JESUS  laid  Himself  alongside  sinful  people, 
and  out  of  them  He  slowly  built  up  the 
new  kingdom.  If  a  man  was  a  formalist,  he 
must  be  born  again  ;  if  the  slave  of  riches,  he 
must  sell  all  he  had  ;  if  in  the  toils  of  a  darling 
sin,  he  must  pluck  out  his  right  eye  to  enter 
the  kingdom  of  God.  New  men  to  make  a 
new  state.  The  kingdom  was  humility,  pur- 
ity, generosity,  unselfishness.  It  was  the  reign 
of  character  ;  it  was  the  straggle  for  perfection. 
The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


February  21 

T)  URNBRAE  and  Jean  saw  all  their  gear, 
\-J  save  the  household  furniture,  set  out  for 
sale.  She  had  resolved  to  be  brave  for  his 
sake,  but  every  object  in  the  field  made  its  own 
appeal  to  her  heart.  What  one  read  in  the 
auctioneer's  catalogue  was  a  bare  list  of  ani- 
mals and  implements,  the  scanty  plenishing  of 
a  Highland  farm.  Jean  saw  everything  in  a 
golden  mist  of  love.  It  was  a  perfectly  pre- 
posterous old  dog-cart,  that  ought  to  have  been 
broken  up  long  ago,  but  how  often  she  had 
gone  in  it  to  Muirtown  on  market  days  with 
John  !  and  on  the  last  journey  he  had  wrapped 
her  up  as  tenderly  as  when  she  was  a  young 
bride.  The  Days  of  A  uld  Lang  Syne. 


February  22 

WHEN  tides  meet  there  is  broken  water, 
and  many  are  tossed  in  their  minds  as  to 
whether  the  pulpit  ought  to  give  its  strength  to 
the  regeneration  of  the  individual  or  of  society. 
Certainly  it  were  a  departure  from  the  method 
of  our  Lord  to  ignore  the  soul,  with  its  awful 
responsibilities  and  immense  possibilities,  to 
starve  the  inner  life,  which  is  the  spring  of 
all  good  thinking  and  working,  to  be  silent 
regarding  the  things  unseen  and  eternal. 

The  Cure  of  Semis. 


February  23 

WHILE  piety  imagined  God  as  the  Father 
of  a  few  and  the  Judge  of  the  rest,  human- 
ity was  belittled  and  Pharisaism  reigned  ;  slavery 
was  defended  from  the  Bible,  and  missions  were 
counted  an  impertinence.  When  He  is  recog- 
nised as  the  universal  Father,  and  the  outcasts  of 
Humanity  as  His  prodigal  children,  every  effort 
of  love  will  be  stimulated,  and  the  Kingdom  of 
God  will  advance  by  leaps  and  bounds.  As  this 
sublime  truth  is  believed,  national  animosities, 
social  divisions,  religious  hatreds  and  inhuman 
doctrines  will  disappear.  No  class  will  regard 
itself  as  favoured :  no  class  will  feel  itself  rejected, 
for  all  men  everywhere  will  be  embraced  in  the 
mission  of  Jesus  and  the  love  of  the  Father. 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 
* 

February  24 

"  A  /T  AISTER  Gordon,"  said  Marget,  "this 
IV  A  is  George's  Homer,  and  he  bade  me  tell 
you  that  he  coonted  yirfreendship  ain  o'  the  gifts 
o'  God."  For  a  brief  space  Gordon  was  silent, 
and,  when  he  spoke,  his  voice  sounded  strange 
in  that  room. 

"Your  son  was  the  finest  scholar  of  my  time, 
and  a  very  perfect  gentleman.  He  was  also  my 
true  friend,  and  I  pray  God  to  console  his 
mother."  And  Ludovic  Gordon  bowed  low 
over  Marget' s  worn  hand  as  if  she  had  been 
a  queen.  Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier  Bush. 


February  25 

IT  lies  upon  the  minister  of  Christ  to  care  for 
the  souls  of  his  people  from  house  to  house  ; 
to  spare  no  pains  that  divine  service  be  beautiful 
and  reverent ;  to  afford  to  the  young  every  useful 
means  of  religious  culture  5  to  move  his  congre- 
gation unto  such  good  works  as  lie  to  their  hand  : 
but  it  is  well  for  him  to  remember  that  the  most 
critical  and  influential  event  in  the  religious 
week  is  the  sermon.  History  bears  unanimous 
testimony  on  this  point.  The  Cure  of  Souls 

* 

February  26 

IT  is  a  person,  not  a  dogma,  which  invites  my 
faith  5  a  person,  not  a  code,  which  asks  for 
obedience.  Jesus  stands  in  the  way  of  every 
selfishness  ;  He  leads  in  the  path  of  every  sac- 
rifice $  He  is  crucified  in  every  act  of  sin  ;  He  is 
glorified  in  every  act  of  holiness.  St.  Stephen,  as 
he  suffered  for  the  Gospel,  saw  the  heavens  open 
and  Jesus  standing  to  receive  him.  St.  Peter, 
fleeing  in  a  second  panic  from  Rome,  meets  Jesus 
returning  to  be  crucified  in  his  place.  Con- 
science and  heart  are  settled  on  Jesus,  and  one 
feels  within  his  soul  the  tides  of  His  virtue.  It 
is  not  the  doctrines  nor  the  ethics  of  Christianity 
that  are  its  irresistible  attraction.  Its  doctrines 
have  often  been  a  stumbling-block,  and  its  eth- 
ics excel  only  in  degree.  The  life-blood  of 
Christianity  is  Christ.  The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


February  27 

preachers  enrich  their  sermons 

V with  quotations,  and  a  stately  line  has 

often  fitly  crowned  an  argument.  But  this 
habit  calls  for  delicacy  and  reticence.  When 
a  sentence  of  some  loved  writer  occurs  to  one 
as  he  is  thinking  out  his  discourse,  and  he  uses 
it  as  the  expression  of  his  own  mind,  then  it 
becomes  a  part  of  the  pattern,  and  is  more  than 
justified.  When  he  stops  at  intervals,  and  goes 
in  search  of  such  passages,  the  quotation  is  then 
foreign  to  his  thinking,  it  is  a  tag  of  embroidery 
stitched  on  the  garment. 

The  Cure  of  Souls. 


February  28 

WHEN  one  says,  "Lord,  I  believe,"  in 
Jesus'  sense,  he  means  that  he  trusts  —  a 
very  different  thing.  Jesus'  physical  Resurrec- 
tion, in  the  same  way,  is  a  question  that  can 
only  be  decided  by  evidence,  and  is  within  the 
province  of  reason.  His  spiritual  Resurrection 
is  a  drama  of  the  soul,  and  a  matter  of  faith. 
When  I  declare  my  belief  that  on  the  third  day 
Jesus  rose,  I  am  really  yielding  to  evidence. 
When  I  am  crucified  with  Christ,  buried  with 
Christ,  and  rise  to  newness  of  life  in  Christ,  I 
am  believing  after  the  very  sense  of  Jesus. 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


February  29 

"  \  7E  ken  verra  weel  "  — for  Milton  believed 

JL  Jamie  a  kindred  spirit  at  this  stage  — 
"that  we 're  a1  here  on  probation,  and  that  few 
are  chosen — juist  a  handfu'  here  an1  there  ;  no* 
on  accoont  o'  ony  excellence  in  oorsel's,  so  we 
maunna  boast." 

"Verra  comfortin'  for  the  handfu',"  mur- 
mured Jamie,  his  eyes  fixed  on  the  roof. 

"Weel,  gin  yon  young  man  didna  declare 
in  sae  mony  words  that  we  were  a'  God's 
bairns,  an'  that  He  wes  gaein'  tae  dae  the  best 
He  cud  wi'  every  ane  o  's.  What  think  ye  o' 
that  ?  —  nae  difference  atween  the  elect  an'  the 
ithers,  nae  preeveleges  nor  advantages  !  It 's 
against  baith  Scriptur  an'  reason." 

"  He  wes  maybe  mixin'  up  the  Almichty  wi' 
his  ain  faither,"  suggested  Jamie.  "  A 've 
heard  ignorant  fouk  say  that  a'  the  differ  is  that 
the  Almichty  is  nae  waur  than  oor  ain  faither, 
but  oot  o'  a'  sicht  kinder.  But  whar  wud  ye 
be  gin  ye  allooed  the  like  o'  that  ?  —  half  o'  the 
doctrines  wud  hae  tae  be  reformed,"  and  Jamie 
departed,  full  of  condolence  with  Milton. 

It  was  not  wonderful  after  these  trying  ex- 
periences that  Milton  became  a  separatist,  and 
edified  himself  and  his  household  in  his  kitchen. 
The  Days  o/Auld  Lang  Syne. 


March 

"TIE'S  a  skilly  man,  Doctor  MacLure," 
JL  JL  continued  my  friend  Mrs.  Macfadyen, 
whose  judgment  on  sermons  or  anything  else 
was  seldom  at  fault ;  "  an'  a  kind-hearted, 
though  o'  coorse  he  hes  his  faults  like  us  a', 
an'  he  disna  tribble  the  Kirk  often. 

*'  He  aye  can  tell  what 's  wrang  wi'  a  body, 
an'  maistly  he  can  put  ye  richt,  an'  there's  nae 
newfangled  wys  wi'  him  :  a  blister  for  the  oot- 
side  an'  Epsom  salts  for  the  inside  dis  his  wark, 
an'  they  say  there  's  no  an  herb  on  the  hills  he 
disna  ken. 

"If  we're  tae  dee,  we're  tae  dee;  an'  if 
we're  tae  live,  we 're  tae  live,"  concluded  Els- 
peth,  with  sound  Calvinistic  logic;  "but  a '11 
say  this  for  the  doctor,  that  whether  yir  tae  live 
or  dee,  he  can  aye  keep  up  a  shairp  meisture  on 
the  skin." 

Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier  Bush. 


March  i 

AS  we  grow  older  and  see  more  of  life,  it 
seems  easier  to  put  a  man  out  of  conceit 
with  his  sin  by  showing  him  the  winsome  and 
perfect  form  of  goodness.  So  full  of  surprises 
is  human  nature  that  he  will  loathe  himself  and 
be  drawn  to  the  preacher,  and,  best  of  all,  love 
righteousness.  He  that  scolds  in  the  pulpit, 
or  rails,  only  irritates  ;  he  that  appreciates  and 
persuades  wins  the  day.  The  Cure  of  Souls. 


March  2 

NOT  only  has  the  best  theology  been  fed  by 
this  spirit  (so  that  Bonaventura,  ques- 
tioned regarding  his  learning,  pointed  to  the 
crucifix),  and  the  living  hymnology  been  its  in- 
carnation (so  that  to  remove  the  name  of  Jesus 
were  to  leave  no  fragrance)  ;  but  all  the  vast 
and  varied  philanthropy  of  public  Christianity 
and  the  sweet  and  winsome  graces  of  private  life 
have  been  the  fruit  of  this  unworldly  emotion. 
' '  For  my  sake ' '  has  opened  a  new  spring  of  con- 
duct, from  which  has  flowed  the  heroism  and 
saintliness  of  nineteen  centuries.  When  Jesus 
founded  His  religion  on  personal  attachment, 
it  seemed  a  fond  imagination  :  the  perennial 
vitality  of  Christianity  has  been  His  vindication. 
The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


March  3 

"  T  T  'S  a  shairp  trial,  wife,  an'  hard  tae  bear. 

-L  But  dinna  forget  oor  mercies.  We  hae 
oor  fower  laddies  left  us,  an'  a'  daein'  weel. 

"We  oucht  tae  be  thankfu'  that  Sandie's 
been  kept  in  the  battle.  Think  o'  yir  son  win- 
nin'  the  Victoria  Cross,  wumman,  an'  ye  '11  see 
it  on  his  breist. 

"  An'  oor  lassie  's  safe,  Jean  ...  in  the  Auld 
Hame,  an'  .  .  .  we'll  sune  be  gaein'  oorsel's 
an'  .  .  .  the '11  be  nae  pairtin'  there. 

"  Ye  hae  me,  Jean,  an'  a'  hae  ma  ain  gude- 
wife,  an'  love  is  mair  than  a'  the  things  a  man 
can  see  wi'  his  een  or  baud  in  his  hands.  Sae 
dinna  be  cast  doon,  lass,  for  nae  hand  can  touch 
oor  treasures  or  tak  awa  oor  love." 

The  Days  of  Avid  Lang  Syne. 


March  4 

IT  is  right  to  say  that  the  Church  must  labour 
to  bring  heaven  here,  but  this  heaven  is  long 
of  coming,  and  meanwhile  the  Church  must 
comfort  the  oppressed,  the  suffering,  the  beaten 
in  this  present  battle,  with  the  vision  of  the  City 
of  Rest,  where  is  no  more  pain,  neither  crying, 
for  the  former  things  have  passed  away.  A 
policy  of  sanitation  is  excellent,  but  it  cannot 
replace  the  Way  of  Salvation. 

The  Care  of  Souls. 


March  5 

AN  extremely  clever  woman  disappeared  into 
Asia  and  returned  with  another  religion, 
which  has  distinctly  added  to  the  innocent  gaiety 
of  the  English  nation.  One  never  knows  when 
a  new  religion  may  not  be  advertised.  Various 
interesting  societies  are  understood  to  be  work- 
ing at  something,  and  each  novelty  receives  a 
good-natured  welcome.  No  person  with  any 
sense  of  humour  resents  one  of  these  efforts  to 
stimulate  the  jaded  palate  of  society,  unless  it 
be  paraded  a  season  too  long  and  threatens  to 
become  a  bore.  Criticism  would  be  absurd  : 
you  might  as  well  analyse  Alice  in  Wonderland. 
Comparison  with  Christianity  is  impossible  :  it 
were  an  insult  to  Jesus.  The  Mind  ofthe  Maliter. 


March  6 

"  A  '  GAED  up  tae  the  Manse  last  nicht,  and 
1~X  telt  the  minister  hoo  the  doctor  focht 
aucht  oors  for  Saunders'  life,  an1  won,  and  ye 
never  saw  a  man  sae  carried.  He  walkit  up 
and  doon  the  room  a'  the  time,  and  every  other 
meenut  he  blew  his  nose  like  a  trumpet. 

"  'I've  a  cold  in  my  head  to-night,  Drum- 
sheugh,'  says  he  ;  'never  mind  me.'  ' 

"  A've  hed  the  same  masel  in  sic  circum- 
stances; they  come  on  sudden,"  said  Jamie. 

Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier  Bush. 


March  7 

WE  are  now  in  the  school  of  St.  John,  and 
are  beginning  to  discover  that  none  can 
be  a  heretic  who  loves,  nor  any  one  be  other 
than  a  schismatic  who  does  not  love.  None 
can  be  cast  out  of  God's  kingdom  if  he  loves, 
none  received  into  it  if  he  does  not  love.  Usher 
cannot  excommunicate  Rutherfurd  because  he 
was  not  ordained  by  a  Bishop,  nor  Rutherfurd 
condemn  Usher  because  he  was  a  head  and  front 
of  Prelacy.  Channing  cannot  exclude  Faber 
because  he  believes  too  much,  or  Faber  exclude 
Channing  because  he  believes  too  little.  None 
can  read  Jesus'  exposition  of  Love  and  imagine 
such  moral  disorder.  The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


March  8 

SCIENCE  has,  for  its  field,  everything 
material ;  religion,  everything  spiritual. 
When  the  scientist  comes,  as  he  constantly  does, 
on  something  beyond  his  tests,  as,  for  instance, 
life,  he  ought  to  leave  it  to  Religion.  When 
the  saint  comes  on  something  material,  as,  for 
instance,  creation,  he  ought  to  leave  it  to  Science. 
Faith  has  no  apparatus  for  science  ;  science  has 
no  method  of  discovering  God.  For  the  phe- 
nomena of  the  universe  we  look  to  Science  ;  for 
the  facts  of  the  soul  to  Faith. 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


March  9 

/CONCEIVE  it  that  a  man  should  receive 
V •  infants  in  the  name  of  Christ,  should  dis- 
pense the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  death,  should 
minister  by  the  bedside  of  the  dying,  should  be 
witness  of  the  supreme  conflicts  of  the  soul, 
should  carry  the  message  of  the  Divine  Love, 
should  intercede  for  the  people  with  God,  should 
live  and  work  amid  sacred  mysteries,  —  and 
should  have  lost  all  sense  of  their  awfulness, 
their  loveliness,  their  tenderness. 

The  Cure  of  Souls. 

* 

March  10 

IT  must  be  remembered  that  when  Jesus  had 
said  His  last  word  on  earth  and  ascended 
unto  the  Father,  it  was  not  to  cease  from  teach- 
ing any  more  than  from  working.  He  was 
only  to  depart  in  the  flesh,  having  given  the  let- 
ter, that  He  might  return  by  the  Holy  Ghost 
to  open  up  the  spirit.  Like  a  father  He  placed 
in  the  hands  of  His  children  the  sum  of  all  His 
wisdom,  not  expecting  them  at  once  to  under- 
stand it,  but  charging  them  to  study  it,  in  the 
good  hope  that  one  day  they  would  enter  into 
its  fulness.  The  Church  has  been  the  child, 
and  the  long  history  of  doctrine  and  morals  has 
been  the  attempt  to  possess  Jesus'  words,  while 
all  the  time  He  Himself  was  the  Saviour  of  every 
one  that  trusted  in  Him.  The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


March  n 

T  T  OLINESS  compels  awe,  wisdom  compels 
J.TL  respect ;  they  do  not  allure.  Nothing 
can  create  Life  but  Life  ;  nothing  can  beget 
Love  but  Love.  He  that  is  not  loved  hates  $ 
he  that  is  loved,  loves,  is  a  law  of  experience. 
As  the  earth  gives  out  the  heat  which  it  has  re- 
ceived from  the  sun,  so  the  devotion  of  Jesus' 
disciples  to  Him  in  all  ages  has  been  the  return 
of  His  immense  devotion  to  them.  He  lavished 
on  His  first  disciples  a  wealth  of  love  in  His 
friendship  ;  He  sealed  it  with  His  sacrifice  of 
Himself  upon  the  cross. 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


March  12 

HIS  people  are  ever  in  the  pastor's  heart, 
although  this  may  not  appear  in  his  ordi- 
nary manner.  He  claims  identity  with  them  in 
their  joy  and  sorrow  and  endless  vicissitudes  of 
life.  No  friend  is  blessed  with  any  good  gift  of 
God  but  he  is  also  richer.  No  household  suf- 
fers loss  but  he  is  poorer.  If  one  stand  amid 
great  temptation  he  is  stronger ;  if  one  fall  he  is 
weaker.  When  any  one  shows  conspicuous 
grace  the  pastor  thanks  God  as  for  himself; 
when  any  one  refuses  His  call  he  is  dismayed, 
counting  himself  less  faithful. 

The  Cure  of  Souls. 


March  13 

NO  power  in  human  experience  has  wrought 
such  mighty  works  as  the  spoken  word  : 
it  has  beaten  down  impiety,  taught  righteous- 
ness, given  freedom  to  the  oppressed,  and  created 
nations.  Before  Knox,  armed  with  this  sword 
of  God,  hosts  fled,  and  he  reigned  in  the  pulpit 
of  St.  Giles  as  a  king  upon  his  throne  :  and  if 
you  go  into  the  roots  of  things,  was  not  the 
American  nation  founded  on  brave,  wholesome 
speech  ?  The  Cure  of  Souls. 

* 

March  14 

WHEN  the  sashes  are  flying  away  from  the 
windows  and  the  skirting  boards  from 
the  floor,  and  the  planks  below  your  feet  are  a 
finger-breadth  apart,  and  the  pipes  are  death- 
traps, it  does  not  matter  that  the  walls  are  cov- 
ered by  art  papers  and  plastered  over  with  china 
dishes.  This  erection,  wherein  human  beings 
have  to  live  and  work  and  fight  their  sins  and 
prepare  for  eternity,  is  a  fraud  and  a  lie.  No 
man  compelled  to  exist  in  such  an  environment 
of  unreality  can  respect  himself  or  other  people  ; 
and  if  it  come  to  pass  that  he  holds  cheap  views 
of  life,  and  reads  smart  papers,  and  does  sharp 
things  in  business,  and  that  his  talk  be  only  a 
clever  jingle,  then  a  plea  in  extenuation  will  be 
lodged  for  him  at  the  Great  Assize. 

Kate  Carnegie. 


March  15 

WHEN  Jesus  came  from  the  Father,  the 
religious  instincts  were  withering  in  the 
dust,  and  vainly  feeling  for  something  on  which 
they  could  climb  to  God  5  Jesus  presented  Him- 
self, and  gathered  the  tendrils  of  the  soul  round 
His  Person.  He  found  religion  a  rite  ;  He  left 
it  a  passion.  The  Mind  Ofthe  Master. 

* 

March  16 

THE  final  test  of  any  religion  is  its  inherent 
spiritual  dynamic  :  the  force  of  Christian- 
ity is  the  pledge  of  its  success.  It  is  not  a  school 
of  morals,  nor  a  system  of  speculation,  it  is  an 
enthusiasm.  This  religion  is  Spring  in  the 
spiritual  world,  with  the  irresistible  charm  of  the 
quickening  wind  and  the  bursting  bud.  It  is  a 
birth,  as  Jesus  would  say,  a  breath  of  God  that 
makes  all  things  new.  Humanity  does  not  need 
morals,  it  needs  motives  :  it  is  sick  of  specula- 
tion, it  longs  for  action.  Men  see  their  duty 
in  every  land  and  age  with  exasperating  clear- 
ness. We  know  not  how  to  do  it.  No  one 
condemns  the  good,  he  leaves  it  undone.  No 
one  approves  the  evil,  he  simply  does  it.  Our 
moral  machinery  is  complete  but  motionless. 
The  religion  which  inspires  men  with  a  genuine 
passion  for  holiness  and  a  constraining  motive 
of  service  will  last.  It  has  solved  the  problem 
of  spiritual  motion.  The  Mindofthe  Matter. 


March  17 

WE  must  accept  the  age  into  which  Provi- 
dence has  cast  us,  and  enter  into  its 
spirit.  One  can  hardly  imagine  any  more  hon- 
ourable task  than  to  meet  its  wants  and  to  guide 
its  inquiries.  There  are  ages  which  have  been 
saved  from  sin  by  evangelism  ;  this  is  an  age 
which  must  be  saved  from  scepticism  by  knowl- 
edge. 

Tht  Cure  of  Souls. 

* 

March  18 

T?  VERY  Sabbath  a  company  of  the  Auld 
I  ./  Kirk  going  west  met  a  company  of  the 
Frees  going  east,  and  nothing  passed  except  a 
nod  or  "  A  wee  saft,"  in  the  case  of  drenching 
rain,  not  through  any  want  of  neighbourliness, 
but  because  this  was  the  nature  God  had  been 
pleased  to  give  Drumtochty. 

For  the  first  time,  the  Auld  Kirk  insisted  on 
a  halt  and  conversation.  It  did  not  sound  much, 
being  mainly  a  comparison  of  crops  among  the 
men,  and  a  brief  review  of  the  butter  market 
by  the  women  —  Jamie  Soutar  only  going  the 
length  of  saying  that  he  was  coming  next  Sab- 
bath to  hear  the  last  of  Cunningham' s  '  <  course ' ' 
—  but  it  was  understood  to  be  a  demonstration, 
and  had  its  due  effect. 

The  Days  of  Auld  Lang  Syne. 


March  19 

WHEN  the  Roman  Empire  was  laid  waste, 
and  the  world  seemed  to  be  falling  to 
pieces,  St.  Augustine  described  the  new  empire 
that  should  rise  on  the  ashes  of  the  old.  The 
City  of  God  stands  first  among  his  writings,  and 
created  the  Holy  Roman  Empire,  but  the  Papacy 
has  not  redeemed  humanity.  When  the  life  of 
Florence  was  eaten  out  by  the  Medicis,  Savona- 
rola purified  the  city  for  a  space  with  a  thunder- 
storm. The  Florentines  cast  out  their  Herods 
at  the  bidding  of  their  Baptist,  they  burned  their 
vanities  in  the  market-place,  they  elected  Jesus 
King  of  Florence  by  acclamation.  In  a  little 
they  brought  Herod  back,  and  burned  the  Baptist 
in  the  same  market-place. 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


March  20 

THE  Puritans  were  at  first  quiet,  serious, 
peaceable  men  who  were  outraged  by  the 
reign  of  unrighteousness,  and  drew  the  sword  to 
deliver  England.      They  made  the  host  of  God 
triumphant  for  a  little.     Then  came  the  reac- 
tion, and  iniquity  covered  the  land  as  with  a 
flood.      It  was  high  failure,  but  it  was  failure. 
It  does  not  become  us  to  criticise  those  forlorn 
hopes ;  we  ought  to  learn  from  their  reverses. 
The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


March  21 

THE  preacher  has  admiration  for  his  peculiar 
reward,  but  the  pastor  has  affection  :  if 
the  preacher  be  ill  there  are  paragraphs  in  the 
newspapers ;  if  the  pastor,  there  is  concern  in 
humble  homes.  No  man  in  human  society 
gathers  such  a  harvest  of  kindly  feeling  as  the 
shepherd  of  souls,  none  is  held  in  such  grateful 
memory.  The  Cure  of  Souls. 

* 

March  22 

WHEN  at  last  the  doctor  rose  to  go,  in  spite 
of  Jean' s  last  remonstrance  that  he  had 
eaten  nothing,  Burnbrae  said  he  would  like  the 
ministers  to  take  the  reading  that  night,  and  then 
they  all  went  into  the  kitchen,  which  had  been 
made  ready.  A  long  table  stood  in  the  centre, 
and  at  one  end  lay  the  old  family  Bible  ;  round 
the  table  gathered  Burnbrae' s  sons  and  the 
serving  lads  and  women.  Doctor  Davidson 
motioned  to  the  Free  Church  minister  to  take 
his  place  at  the  head. 

"This  is  your  family,  and  your  elder's 
house." 

But  Cunningham  spoke  out  instantly  with  a 
clear  voice  — 

"  Doctor  Davidson,  there  is  neither  Estab- 
lished nor  Free  Church  here  this  night ;  we  are 
all  one  in  faith  and  love,  and  you  were  ordained 
before  I  was  born. ' '  The  Days  of  A  uld  Lang  Synf. 


March  23 

THE  Sermon  on  the  Mount  is  the  measure  of 
Jesus'  optimism,  and  its  gradual  fulfil- 
ment His  justification.  His  ideas  have  matured 
in  the  human  consciousness,  and  are  now  burst- 
ing into  flower  before  our  eyes.  Thoughtful 
men  of  many  schools  are  giving  their  mind  to 
the  programme  of  Jesus,  and  asking  whether  it 
ought  not  to  be  attempted.  The  ideal  of  Life, 
one  dares  now  to  hope,  is  to  be  realised  within 
measurable  distance,  and  the  dreams  of  the  Gali- 
lean Prophet  become  history. 

Tfu  Mind  of  the  Master. 

V 

March  24 

MY  thoughts  drift  to  the  auld  schule-house 
and  Domsie.  Some  one  with  the  love 
of  God  in  his  heart  had  built  it  long  ago,  and 
chose  a  site  for  the  bairns  in  the  sweet  pine- 
woods  at  the  foot  of  the  cart  road  to  Whinnie 
Knowe  and  the  upland  farms.  It  stood  in  a 
clearing  with  the  tall  Scotch  firs  round  three 
sides,  and  on  the  fourth  a  brake  of  gorse  and 
bramble  bushes,  through  which  there  was  an 
opening  to  the  road.  The  clearing  was  the 
playground,  and  in  summer  the  bairns  annexed 
as  much  wood  as  they  liked,  playing  tig  among 
the  trees,  or  sitting  down  at  dinner-time  on  the 
soft,  dry  spines  that  made  an  elastic  carpet 
everywhere.  Beside  tjie  Bonnie  Brier  Busk. 


March  25 

T~*HE  preacher  also  addresses  a  jury  of  say 
five  hundred  people,  and  whether  his  sub- 
ject be  sin  or  righteousness,  doctrine  or  duty,  he 
has  to  bring  them  to  his  way  of  thinking,  and 
persuade  them  to  believe  his  message.  If  he 
talks  above  their  heads,  or  delivers  himself  of 
dead  information,  or  airs  his  own  conceits,  or 
raises  vain  questions,  or  bores  them  with  obsolete 
doctrines,  then  he  misses  his  chance,  and  in  spite 
of  his  learning  oracuteness  or  piety  he  is  a  failure. 

The  Cure  of  Souls. 


March  26 

SO  we  imagined  an  outer  court  of  the  religious 
life  where  most  of  us  made  our  home,  and 
a  secret  place  where  only  God's  nearest  friends 
could  enter,  and  it  was  said  of  Burnbrae,  "  He 's 
far  ben."  His  neighbours  had  watched  him, 
for  a  generation  and  more,  buying  and  selling, 
ploughing  and  reaping,  going  out  and  in  the  com- 
mon ways  of  a  farmer's  life,  and  had  not  missed 
the  glory  of  the  soul.  The  cynic  of  Dramtochty 
summed  up  his  character:  "There's  a  puckle 
gude  fouk  in  the  pairish,  and  ane  or  twa  o'  the 
ither  kind,  and  the  maist  o'  us  are  half  and  be- 
tween," said  Jamie  Soutar,  "but  there's  ae 
thing  ye  may  be  sure  o' ,  Burnbrae  is  ' far  ben.' " 
Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier  Bush. 


March  27 

"r  1  "'HIS  letter  'ill  gie  ye  a  sair  hert  for  mony  a 
JL  day,  but  ye  '11  coont  the  sairness  a  bless- 
ing an'  no'  an  ill.  Never  lat  it  slip  frae  yir  mind 
that  twa  true  weemen  loved  ye  an'  prayed  for  ye 
till  the  laist,  deein'  wi'  yir  name  on  their  lips. 
Ye '11  be  a  man  yet,  Chairlie. 

"  Dinna  answer  this  letter  —  answer  yon  fond 
herts  that  love  an'  pray  for  ye.  Gin  ye  be  ever 
in  tribble,  lat  me  ken.  A'  wes  yir  grand- 
mither's  freend  and  Lily's  freend  $  sae  lang  as 
a'm  here,  coont  me  yir  freend  for  their  sake. 
"JAMES  SOUTAR." 

The  Days  of  A  uld  Lang  Syne. 

V 

March  28 

"  ATE  was  a  lovable  lass,  but,  like  every 
complete  woman,  she  had  a  temper  and 
a  stock  of  prejudices.  She  was  good  comrade 
with  all  true  men,  although  her  heart  was  whole, 
and  with  a  few  women  that  did  not  mince  their 
words  or  carry  two  faces ;  but  Kate  had  claws 
inside  the  velvet,  and  once  she  so  handled  with 
her  tongue  a  young  fellow  who  offended  her 
that  he  sent  in  his  papers.  What  she  said  was 
not  much,  but  it  was  memorable,  and  every 
word  drew  blood.  Her  father  was  never  quite 
certain  what  she  would  do,  although  he  was 
always  sure  of  her  love.  Kate  Carnegie. 


March  29      u^ 

WHAT  rends  society  in  every  land  is  the 
conflict  between  the  rights  of  the  one 
and  the  rights  of  the  many,  and  harmony  can 
only  be  established  by  their  reconciliation. 
Peace  can  never  be  made  by  the  suppression  of 
the  individual  —  which  is  collectivism,  nor  by 
the  endless  sacrifice  of  a  hundred  for  the  profit 
of  one  —  which  is  individualism.  Jesus  came 
to  bring  each  man's  individuality  to  perfection, 
not  to  sink  him  in  the  mass.  Jesus  came  to 
rescue  the  poor  and  weak  from  the  tyranny  of 
power  and  ambition,  not  to  leave  them  in  bond- 
age. Both  ends  were  His,  and  both  are  em- 
braced in  His  new  commandment.  For  the 
ideal  placed  before  each  individual  is  not  rule 
but  service,  and  in  proportion  to  his  attainments 
will  be  his  sacrifices.  Tite  Mind  of  the  Master: 

* 

March  30 

T  T  NFORTUNATELY  for  us,  at  the  close 
\J  of  the  nineteenth  century,  with  its  com- 
petition, sensationalism,  externalism,  and  end- 
less bustle,  meditation  is  a  lost  art,  like  the 
making  of  Venetian  glass  and  certain  painters' 
pigments.  It  is  not  reading,  nor  thinking,  nor 
praying ;  it  is  brooding,  a  spiritual  experience, 
where  the  subject  is  hidden  in  the  soul  as  leaven 
in  three  measures  of  meal  till  all  be  leavened. 

The  Cure  of  Souls. 


March  31 

"~\7E  maunna  be  cast  doon,  Jean,"  and  his 
JL      voice   was  very  tender,   "an'  a'   ken 
weel  ye '11  no  be  angry  wi'  me." 

"Angry  ?  "  said  Jean  ;  "ma  hert  failed  last 
nicht  for  a  whilie,  but  that's  ower  noo  an'  for 
ever.  John,  a'  lovit  ye  frae  the  time  we  sat  in 
the  schule  thegither,  an'  a'  wes  a  happy  wum- 
man  when  ye  mairried  me. 

"  A  've  been  lifted  mony  a  time  when  a'  saw 
hoo  fouk  respeckit  ye,  and  abune  a'  when  ye 
gaed  doon  the  kirk  wi'  the  cups  in  yir  hands  at 
the  Saicrament,  for  a'  kent  ye  were  worthy. 

"Ye 're  dearer  tae  me  ilka  year  that  comes 
and  gaes,  but  a'  never  lovit  ye  as  a'  dae  this 
nicht,  an'  a'  coont  sic  a  husband  better  than 
onything  God  cud  gie  me  on  earth." 

And  then  Jean  did  what  was  a  strange  thing 
in  Drumtochty  —  she  flung  her  arms  round 
Burnbrae's  neck  and  kissed  him. 

The  Days  of  Avid  Lang  Syne. 


April 


IT  was  a  fine  April  morning  when  the  news 
of  the  great  disaster  came,  and  the  Doctor 
felt  the  stirring  of  spring  in  his  blood.  On  the 
first  hint  from  Skye  he  sprang  from  his  chair, 
declaring  it  was  a  sin  to  be  in  the  house  on  such 
a  day,  and  went  out  in  such  haste  that  he  had 
to  return  for  his  hat.  As  he  went  up  the  walk, 
the  Doctor  plucked  some  early  lilies  and  placed 
them  in  his  coat ;  he  threw  so  many  stones  that 
Skye  forgot  his  habit  of  body  and  ecclesiastical 
position  ;  and  he  was  altogether  so  youthful  and 
frolicsome  that  John  was  seriously  alarmed,  and 
afterwards  remarked  to  Rebecca  that  he  was  not 
unprepared  for  calamity. 

"  The  best  o  's  tempts  Providence  at  a  time, 
and  when  a  man  like  the  Doctor  tries  tae  rin 
aifter  his  dog  jidgment  canna  be  far  off.  A  'm 
no  sayinV  John  concluded  with  characteristic 
modesty,  "that  onybody  cud  tell  what  was 
coming,  but  a'  jaloused  there  wud  be  tribble." 

Kate  Carnegie. 


April  i 

"HT'HEY  were  gude  men  'at  githered  ablow 
_L  the  beech-tree  in  the  kirkyaird  on  a  Sab- 
bath mornin',"  he  said  aloud,  and  the  new  ac- 
cent had  now  lost  itself  altogether  in  an  older 
tongue  ;  "  and  there  wesna  a  truer  hert  amang 
them  a'  than  Jamie.  Gin  he  hed  been  spared 
tae  gie  me  a  shak  o'  his  hand,  a'  wud  hae  been 
comforted ;  an'  aifter  him  a'  wud  like  a  word 
frae  Drumsheugh.  A'  wunner  gin  he  be  still 
tae  the  fore. ' '  The  Days  ofAuld Lang  Syne. 

* 

April  2 

OENSIBLE  and  book-reading  men  do  not 
vj  hunger  for  six  courses,  but  they  are  criti- 
cal about  their  toast  and  .  .  .  nothing  more, 
for  that  is  the  pulse.  Then  a  man  also  hates 
to  have  any  fixed  hour  for  breakfast  —  never 
thinking  without  a  shudder  of  houses  where  they 
have  prayers  at  7.50  —  but  a  man  refuses  to 
be  kept  waiting  five  minutes  for  dinner.  If  a 
woman  will  find  his  belongings,  which  he  has 
scattered  over  three  rooms  and  the  hall,  he  in- 
vests her  with  many  virtues;  and  if  she  packs 
his  portmanteau,  he  will  associate  her  with  St. 
Theresa.  But  if  his  hostess  be  inclined  to  dis- 
cuss problems  with  him,  he  will  receive  her 
name  with  marked  coldness  ;  and  if  she  follow 
up  this  trial  with  evil  food,  he  will  conceive  a 
rooted  dislike  for  her,  and  will  flee  her  house. 

So    simple    is    a    man.  Kate  Carnegie. 


April  3 

JESUS  expected  that  His  love  would  have  a 
wider  range  than  the  fellowship  of  Galilee, 
and  that  the  world  would  yield  to  its  spell.  It 
was  not  for  St.  John,  His  friend,  Jesus  laid  down 
His  life  ;  it  was  for  the  Race  into  which  He  had 
been  born  and  which  He  carried  in  His  heart. 
No  one  has  ever  made  such  a  sacrifice  for  Hu- 
manity. No  one  has  dared  to  ask  such  a  recom- 
pense. The  eternal  Son  of  God  gave  Himself 
without  reserve,  and  anticipated  that  to  all  time 
men  would  give  themselves  for  Him.  He  pro- 
posed to  inspire  His  Race  with  a  personal  devo- 
tion, and  that  profound  devotion  was  to  be  their 
salvation.  "  Give  me  a  cross  whereon  to  die," 
said  Jesus,  "  and  I  will  make  thereof  a  throne 
from  which  to  rule  the  world." 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


April  4 

THE  preacher,  to  succeed,  must  be  Peter  as 
he  denies  his  Lord,  and  Mary  as  her  brother 
dies,  and  the  Syrian  woman  as  she  sees  Christ 
yield  to  her  irresistible  importunity.  This  bap- 
tism into  the  heart  of  a  subject,  till  the  preacher 
and  sermon  be  of  one  blood,  is  a  secret  process 
that  can  go  on  as  the  minister  does  his  work,  but 
is  much  accelerated  on  his  quiet  walks  and  in  his 
lonely  hours.  The  C«re  of  Souk. 


April  5 

WHEN  the  Church  of  Christ  receives  a  rein- 
forcement of  common  sense,  and  man- 
ages her  affairs  with  as  much  shrewdness  as  a 
bank,  one  is  certain  that  her  rulers  will  make 
some  salutary  reforms.  Incapable  men  will  be 
removed  without  hesitation,  on  the  sound  prin- 
ciple that  the  ministry  exists  for  the  Church,  and 
not  the  Church  for  the  ministry.  The  man  and 
his  work  will  also  be  harmonised. 

The  Cure  of  Souls. 
* 

April  6 

WHEN  a  biographer  of  Jesus,  more  distin- 
guished perhaps  by  his  laborious  detail 
than  his  insight  into  truth,  seriously  recommends 
Jesus  to  the  notice  of  the  world  by  certificates 
from  Rousseau  and  Napoleon,  or  when  some 
light-hearted  man  of  letters  embroiders  a  needy 
paragraph  with  a  string  of  names  where  Jesus  is 
wedged  in  between  Zoroaster  and  Goethe,  the 
Christian  consciousness  is  aghast.  This  treat- 
ment is  not  merely  bad  taste;  it  is  impossible  by 
any  canon  of  thought;  it  is  as  if  one  should  com- 
pare the  sun  with  electric  light,  or  the  colour  of 
Titian  with  the  bloom  of  the  rose.  We  criticise 
every  other  teacher;  we  have  an  intuition  of 
Jesus.  He  is  not  a  subject  of  study,  He  is  a 
revelation  to  the  soul  —  that  or  nothing. 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


April  7 

OUR  kirkyard  was  on  a  height  facing  the 
south,  with  the  massy  Tochty  woods  on 
one  side  and  the  manse  on  the  other,  while  down 
below  —  a  meadow  between  —  the  river  ran, 
so  that  its  sound  could  just  be  heard  in  clear 
weather.  From  its  vantage  one  could  see  the 
Ochils  as  well  as  one  of  the  Lomonds,  and  was 
only  cut  off  from  the  Sidlaws  by  Tochty  woods. 
It  was  not  well  kept,  after  the  town's  fashion, 
having  no  walk,  save  the  broad  track  to  the  kirk 
door  and  a  narrower  one  to  the  manse  garden ; 
no  cypresses  or  weeping  willows  or  beds  of 
flowers  —  only  four  or  five  big  trees  had  flung 
their  kindly  shadow  for  generations  over  the 
place  where  the  fathers  of  the  Glen  took  their 
long  rest.  The  Days  of  Avid  Lang  Syne. 


April  8 

THIS  is  not  an  intellectual  proposition  to 
be  asserted  and  proved,  or  a  fancy  to  be 
tracked  out  and  exhibited.  This  is  a  spiritual 
truth  to  be  commended  to  faith,  a  living  prin- 
ciple to  be  enforced  on  conscience.  It  must, 
therefore,  be  first  imprinted  on  the  preacher's 
soul  till  it  has  become  a  part  of  his  own  being, 
before  he  can  really  understand  or  declare  it. 

TJte  Cure  of  Souls. 


April  9 

WHEN  Jesus  rose  from  the  dead  He  found 
that  one  of  His  apostles  had  not  kept 
Easter  Day,  and  would  not  accept  His  Resur- 
rection unless  Jesus  afforded  him  physical  proof 
of  the  most  humble  and  elementary  kind.  Je- 
sus conceded  to  Love  what  could  not  be  given 
to  faith,  and  St.  Thomas,  who  had  lost  faith  in 
Jesus'  humanity,  rose  to  the  faith  of  His  divinity. 
But  Jesus  reproached  him,  and  rated  his  faith 
at  a  low  value.  It  was  only  a  bastard  faith 
that  had  not  freed  itself  of  sight. 

"What,"  said  St.  Augustine,  "is  Faith, 
but  to  believe  what  you  do  not  see  ?  "  It  was 
a  happy  epitome  of  the  teaching  of  Jesus.  With 
Jesus  Faith  is  the  opposite  of  sight. 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


April 


10 


ONE  comes  upon  a  person  that  has  not  one 
point  of  contact  with  the  thought-world : 
he  eats,  digests,  moves,  —  we  say  he  exists. 
One  comes  on  another  full  of  ideas,  plans, 
dreams,  ambitions,  —  we  say  he  is  alive.  It  is 
the  approximate  statement  of  a  fact  in  human 
history.  When  the  former  dies  we  are  not 
astonished,  because  it  had  never  struck  us  that 
he  was  alive.  When  the  latter  dies  we  are 
shocked,  the  disappearance  of  that  radiant  man 
is  a  catastrophe.  The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


April  ii 

HERE  and  there  the  minister  would  stop  as 
a  trout  leapt  in  a  pool,  or  a  flock  of  wild 
duck  crossed  the  sky  to  Loch  Sheuchie,  or  the 
cattle  thrust  inquisitive  noses  through  some 
hedge,  as  a  student  snatches  a  mouthful  from 
some  book  in  passing.  For  these  walks  were 
his  best  study;  when  thinking  of  his  people  in 
their  goodness  and  simplicity,  and  touched  by 
nature  at  her  gentlest,  he  was  freed  from  many 
vain  ideas  of  the  schools  and  from  artificial 
learning,  and  heard  the  Galilean  speak  as  He 
used  to  do  among  the  fields  of  corn. 

Kate  Carnegie. 

April  12 

IT  was  natural  that  the  imagination  of  Jesus 
should  inspire  heroic  souls  in  every  age ;  it 
was  perhaps  inevitable  that  few  could  enter  into 
His  mind.  Nothing  has  given  such  a  moral  im- 
petus to  human  society;  nothing  has  conferred 
such  nobility  of  character  as  the  Kingdom  of 
God;  nothing  has  been  so  sadly  misunderstood. 
The  sublime  self-restraint  of  Jesus,  His  inex- 
haustible patience,  His  immovable,  charity,  His 
unerring  insight,  did  not  descend  to  certain  of 
His  disciples.  They  longed  to  anticipate  the 
victory  of  righteousness,  and  burned  to  cleanse 
the  world  by  force.  Such  eager  souls  gained 
for  themselves  an  imperishable  name,  but  they 
failed.  The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


April  13 

PUBLIC  worship  ought  to  be  comforting, 
joyful,  enthusiastic,  beautiful,  the  flower 
of  all  the  week,  but  its  chief  note  should  be  rever- 
ence and  godly  fear.  Praise  and  prayer,  the 
reading  of  Holy  Scripture,  and  the  preaching  of 
the  Evangel,  should  conspire  to  lift  the  congre- 
gation above  the  present  world  and  the  sensible 
atmosphere  in  which  they  have  been  living,  and 
bring  them  face  to  face  with  the  Eternal. 

The  Cure  of  Souls. 


April  14 

'"  A  '  Prayed  last  nicht  that  the  Lord  wud 

A\.  leave  Saunders  till  the  laddies  cud  dae 
for  themselves,  an'  thae  words  came  intae  ma 
mind,  "  Weeping  may  endure  for  a  nicht,  but 
joy  cometh  in  the  morninV 

"  '  The  Lord  heard  ma  prayer,  and  joy  hes 
come  in  the  morn  in','  an'  she  gripped  the 
doctor's  hand. 

"  <  Ye  've  been  the  instrument,  Doctor  Mac- 
Lure.  Ye  wudna  gie  him  up,  and  ye  did  what 
nae  ither  cud  for  him,  an'  a'  ve  ma  man  the  day, 
and  the  bairns  hae  their  father.  * 

"An'  afore  MacLure  kent  what  she  was 
daein',  Bell  lifted  his  hand  to  her  lips  an' 
kissed  it."  Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier  Bush. 


April  15 

JESUS  crystallised  the  idea  of  Faith  which  is 
held  in  solution  throughout  the  Bible,  and 
rests  on  the  assumption  of  two  worlds.  There 
is  the  physical  world  which  lies  round  us  on 
every  side,  and  of  which  our  bodies  are  a  part. 
This  is  one  environment,  and  the  instrument  of 
knowledge  here  is  sight.  There  is  the  spiritual 
world  which  is  hidden  by  the  veil  of  the  physi- 
cal, and  of  which  our  souls  are  a  part.  This 
is  another  environment,  and  the  instrument  of 
knowledge  here  is  faith.  The  Mind  Ofthe  Master. 

* 

April  1 6 

JESUS  was  not  an  agreeable  sentimentalist 
who  imagined  that  He  could  cleanse  the 
world  by  rose-water;  He  was  the  only  thinker 
who  grasped  the  whole  situation  root  and  branch. 
He  did  not  propose  to  make  sin  illegal  5  that  had 
been  done  without  conspicuous  benefit.  He  pro- 
posed to  make  sin  impossible  by  replacing  it  with 
love.  If  sin  be  an  act  of  self-will,  each  per- 
son making  himself  the  centre,  then  Love  is  the 
destruction  of  sin,  because  Love  connects  instead 
of  isolating.  No  one  can  be  envious,  avaricious, 
hard-hearted;  no  one  can  be  gross,  sensual,  un- 
clean, if  he  loves.  Love  is  the  death  of  all  bit- 
ter and  unholy  moods  of  the  soul,  because  Love 
lifts  the  man  out  of  himself  and  teaches  him  to 
live  in  another.  The  Mind  of  tJu  Master. 


April  17 

NO  one  can  exaggerate  the  opportunity  given 
to  a  preacher  when,  on  the  morning  of  the 
first  day  of  the  week,  he  ascends  the  pulpit  and 
faces  a  congregation  who  are  gathered  in  the 
name  of  Jesus,  and  wait  to  hear  what  he  has  to 
say  to  them  concerning  the  things  which  are 
unseen  and  eternal.  Each  man  carries  his  own 
burden  of  unbelief,  sorrow,  temptation,  care, 
into  the  House  of  God,  and  the  preacher  has  to 
hearten  all ;  for,  indeed,  the  work  of  the  pulpit 
in  our  day  is  not  so  much  to  teach  or  define  as 
to  stimulate  and  encourage.  The  Cure  gfs<ntis. 

* 

April  1 8 

"  "\7OU  'RE  not  away  yet,  Burnbrae,  you  're 
ji      not  away  y et ;  it '  s  not  so  easy  to  turn  out 
a  Drumtochty  man  as  our  English  factor  thought : 
we  're  a  stiff  folk,  and  our  roots  grip  fast. 

"  He  was  to  rule  this  parish,  and  he  was  to  do 
as  he  pleased  with  honest  men;  we'll  see  who 
comes  off  best  before  the  day  is  done,"  and  the 
doctor  struck  his  stick,  the  stick  of  office  with 
the  golden  head,  on  the  gravel  in  triumph. 

"You've  just  come  in  time,  Mrs.  Baxter" 
—  for  Jean  had  been  putting  herself  in  order  — 
"  for  I  want  to  give  you  a  bit  of  advice.  Do 
not  lift  any  more  of  your  plants  —  it 's  bad  for 
their  growth ;  and  I  rather  think  you  '11  have  to 
put  them  back. ' '  rhe  Days  0fA  uld  Lang  Syne 


April  19 

*~  I  "HE  richest  heritage  of  an  old  congregation 
J.  is  not  her  endowments,  but  her  history, 
the  names  of  saints  which  can  be  read  on  her 
faded  rolls,  and  the  record  of  their  works.  The 
ambition  of  a  new  congregation  ought  to  be  the 
attainment  of  a  worthy  model  in  its  first  plastic 
years.  For  character  is  transmitted  in  ecclesi- 
astical as  surely  as  in  family  life,  so  that  men 
have  the  hereditary  features  of  their  congrega- 
tion —  a  certain  accent  in  doctrine,  a  certain 
manner  in  work,  a  certain  attitude  of  faith. 

The  Cure  of  Souls. 


April  20 

T  ESUS  did  not  create  goodness — her  fair  form 
J  had  been  already  carved  in  white  marble  by 
austere  hands;  His  office  was  to  place  a  soul 
within  the  ribs  of  death  till  the  cold  stone 
changed  into  a  living  body.  Before  Jesus, 
goodness  was  sterile,  since  Jesus,  goodness  has 
blossomed ;  He  fertilised  it  with  His  spirit.  It 
was  a  theory,  it  became  a  force.  He  took  the 
corn,  which  had  been  long  stored  in  the  grana- 
ries of  philosophy,  and  sowed  it  in  the  soft 
spring  earth;  He  minted  the  gold  and  made  it 
current  coin.  Christianity  is  in  Religion  what 
steam  is  in  mechanics,  the  power  which  drives. 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


April  21 

"rT"HIS  is  what  ye  hev  dune,  and  ye  let  a 
J.  woman  see  yir  wark.  Ye  are  an  auld 
man,  and  in  sore  travail,  but  a'  tell  ye  before 
God  ye  hae  the  greater  shame.  Juist  twenty 
years  o'  age  this  spring,  and  her  mither  dead. 
Nae  woman  to  watch  over  her,  and  she  wan- 
dered frae  the  fold,  and  a'  ye  can  dae  is  to  tak 
her  oot  o'  yir  Bible.  Wae  's  me  if  oor  Father 
had  blotted  out  oor  names  frae  the  Book  o'  Life 
when  we  left  His  hoose.  But  He  sent  His  ain 
Son  to  seek  us,  an'  a  weary  road  He  cam.  A' 
tell  ye,  a  man  wudna  leave  a  sheep  tae  perish 
as  ye  hae  cast  aff  yir  ain  bairn." 

Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier  Bush. 

* 

April  22 

'""P'WO  possessions  we  shall  carry  with  us  into 
_L  the  unseen :  they  are  free  of  death,  and  in- 
alienable —  one  is  character,  the  other  is  capac- 
ity. Is  this  capacity  to  be  consigned  to  idleness 
and  wantonly  wasted  ?  It  were  unreason  :  it 
were  almost  a  crime.  How  this  or  that  gift  can 
be  utilised  in  the  other  world  is  a  vain  question, 
and  leads  to  childish  speculation.  We  do  not 
know  where  the  unseen  universe  is,  nor  how  it 
is  constituted,  much  less  how  it  is  ordered,  but 
our  reason  may  safely  conclude  that  the  capacity 
which  is  exercised  under  one  form  here  will  be 
exercised  under  another  yonder. 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


April  23 

IT  seemeth  to  us,  when  we  are  still  young, 
both  clever  and  profitable  to  make  a  hearer 
ashamed  of  his  sin  by  putting  him  in  the  pillory 
and  pelting  him  with  epithets.  Such  is  the  in- 
curable perversity  of  human  nature,  that  the 
man  grows  worse  under  the  discipline,  and  even 
conceives  an  unconscionable  dislike  to  the  officer 
of  justice.  The  Cure  ef  souls. 


April  24 

JEREMIAH  SAUNDERSON  had  re- 
J  mained  in  the  low  estate  of  a  "probationer" 
for  twelve  years  after  he  left  the  Divinity  Hall, 
where  he  was  reported  so  great  a  scholar  that 
the  Professor  of  Apologetics  spoke  to  him  depre- 
catingly,  and  the  Professor  of  Dogmatics  openly 
consulted  him  on  obscure  writers.  He  had 
wooed  twenty-three  congregations  in  vain,  from 
churches  in  the  black  country,  where  the  colliers 
rose  in  squares  of  twenty,  and  went  out  with- 
out ceremony,  to  suburban  places  of  worship 
where  the  beadle,  after  due  consideration  of  the 
sermon,  would  take  up  the  afternoon  notices 
and  ask  that  they  be  read  at  once  for  purposes 
of  utility,  which  that  unflinching  functionary 
stated  to  the  minister  with  accuracy  and  much 
faithfulness.  Kate  Carnegie. 


April  25 

did  not  ground  His  Christianity  in 
V^  thinking,  or  in  doing,  but,  first  of  all,  in 
being.  It  consisted  in  a  certain  type  of  soul  — 
a  spiritual  shape  of  the  inner  self.  Was  a  man 
satisfied  with  this  type,  and  would  he  aim  at  it 
in  his  own  life  ?  Would  he  put  his  name  to  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount,  and  place  himself  under 
Jesus'  charge  for  its  accomplishment  ?  Then  he 
was  a  Christian  according  to  the  conditions  laid 
down  by  Jesus  in  the  fresh  daybreak  of  His 
religion.  The  Mind  Ofthe  Master. 


April  26 

C*  OMETIMES  the  pastor  receives  a  sudden 
w3  impulse  to  go  to  a  certain  house,  and 
whether  it  come  to  him  in  his  room  or  on  the 
street,  he  obeys  it  with  all  possible  speed.  On 
the  way  he  will  reproach  himself  because  he  may 
be  going  on  a  needless  errand,  and  he  will  be 
abashed  on  the  door-step  because  he  has  no  ex- 
cuse for  calling.  He  needs  none,  as  it  appears, 
for  he  discovers  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten  that  he 
is  needed  in  that  house,  and  that  his  arrival  is 
considered  a  providence.  It  is  really  something 
higher  and  finer  —  a  guidance  of  the  Chief 
Shepherd  by  the  inward  light  of  His  Spirit. 

The  Cure  of  Souls. 


April  27 

BUT  not  even  Hillocks,  with  all  his  bland- 
ishments, could  wile  them  within-doors 
that  evening.  John  Ross  saw  his  mother  shad- 
ing her  eyes  at  the  garden  gate,  and  wearying 
for  the  sight  of  his  head  above  the  hill,  and  al- 
ready David  Baxter  seemed  to  hear  his  father's 
voice,  ' '  God  bless  ye,  laddie  ;  welcome  hame, 
an'  weel  dune."  For  the  choice  reward  of  a 
true  man's  work  is  not  the  applause  of  the  street, 
which  comes  and  goes,  but  the  pride  of  them 
that  love  him.  TJie  Days  of  Auld  Lang  Syne. 


April  28 

THE  Lodge  had  never  been  long  without  a 
young  widow  and  a  fatherless  lad,  but 
family  history  had  no  warning  for  him  —  in  fact, 
seemed  rather  to  be  an  inspiration  in  the  old  way 
—  for  no  sooner  had  the  young  laird  loved  and 
married  than  he  would  hear  of  another  rebellion, 
and  ride  off  some  morning  to  fight  for  that  ill- 
fated  dynasty  the  love  of  which  was  ever  another 
name  for  death.  There  was  always  a  Carnegie 
ready  as  soon  as  the  white  cockade  appeared 
anywhere  in  Scotland,  and  each  of  the  house 
fought  like  the  men  before  him,  save  that  he 
brought  fewer  at  his  back  and  had  less  in  his 

pocket.  Kate  Carnegie. 


April  29 

NO  one  can  fail  to  notice  that  Jesus  spent 
His  life  for  the  most  part  in  the  open  air, 
and  that  the  Gospels  carry  on  them  the  breath 
of  the  country.  He  founded  His  kingdom  on 
a  hillside,  where  the  wind  blew  as  it  listed,  and 
His  chosen  oratory  was  under  the  silver  olive- 
trees.  Time  and  again  Jesus  fled  to  the  desert, 
where  the  pasture-lilies  grew  in  their  unclothed 
multitude,  or  to  some  solitary  place  where  He 
could  be  alone  with  God  in  the  cool  and  silent 
night.  Tfo  upper  Room. 


April  30 

MORAL  truths  ripen  slowly;  but  given 
time,  and  Christianity  was  bound  to  be- 
come the  most  potent  force  in  the  state,  although 
Jesus  had  never  said  one  word  about  politics, 
and  His  apostles  had  adhered  closely  to  His 
example.  Men  who  have  been  fed  with  Christ's 
bread,  and  in  whose  heart  His  spirit  is  striving, 
will  not  long  tolerate  slavery,  tyranny,  vice,  or 
ignorance.  If  they  do  not  apply  the  principle 
to  the  fact  to-day,  they  will  to-morrow.  Their 
conscience  is  helpless  in  the  grip  of  Christ's 
word.  They  will  be  constrained  to  labour  in 
the  cause  of  Christ,  and  when  their  work  is  done 
men  will  praise  them.  The  Mindofthe  Master. 


May 


WHEN  George  came  home  for  the  last 
time,  Marget  went  back  and  forward 
all  afternoon  from  his  bedroom  to  the  window, 
and  hid  herself  beneath  the  laburnum  to  see  his 
face  as  the  cart  stood  before  the  stile.  It  told 
her  plain  what  she  had  feared,  and  Marget 
passed  through  her  Gethsemane  with  the  gold 
blossoms  falling  on  her  face.  When  their  eyes 
met,  and  before  she  helped  him  down,  mother 
and  son  understood. 

"  Ye  mind  what  I  told  ye,  o'  the  Greek 
mothers,  the  day  I  left.  Weel,  I  wud  hae  liked 
to  have  carried  my  shield,  but  it  wasna  to  be,  so 
I  've  come  home  on  it."  As  they  went  slowly 
up  the  garden  walk,  "I've  got  my  degree,  a 
double  first,  mathematics  and  classics." 

"Ye've  been  a  gude  soldier,  George,  and 
faithfuV 

"Unto  death,  a'm  dootin',  mother." 

"Na,"  said  Marget,  "unto  life." 

Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier  Bush. 


May  i 

"\  T  7  HEN  a  good  cause  finds  a  befitting  leader, 
V  V  it  will  be  victorious  before  set  of  sun. 
David  had  about  him  such  a  grace  of  beauty  and 
chivalry  that  his  officers  risked  their  lives  to 
bring  him  a  cup  of  water,  and  his  people  car- 
ried him  to  the  throne  of  Israel  on  the  love  of 
their  hearts.  Human  nature  has  two  domi- 
nant instincts  —  the  spring  of  all  action  as  well 
as  the  subject  of  all  literature  —  Faith  and 
Love.  The  religion  which  unites  them  will 
be  omnipotent.  The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


May  2 

THE  conclusive  proof  that  we  are  already  in 
the  midst  of  a  true  and  sane  mysticism  is 
the  instinctive  return  to  Christ,  where  on  every 
side  and  from  all  schools  Christian  souls  are 
making  for  their  place  of  birth,  as  fish  find  again 
their  native  stream.  Many  traditions  have  been 
swept  away,  and  many  theories  laid  aside;  but 
above  the  dust  of  controversy  rises  the  face  of 
Christ.  Surely  there  has  been  no  age  since  that 
early  morn,  when  the  echo  of  His  footsteps  was 
still  on  earth,  and  His  very  appearance  in  the 
flesh  was  remembered,  wherein  Christians  have 
been  so  anxious  to  understand  what  Jesus  was 
and  what  He  taught.  The  Cure  ofSouis. 


May  3 

IF  the  proletariat  is  to  be  won  for  Christ,  it 
will  not  be  by  patronage,  but  by  brotherly 
sympathy  and  co-operation.  The  ideal  is  that 
a  Church  of  the  west  and  another  of  the  east 
should  go  into  partnership,  combining  their 
resources  of  means  and  men,  and  so  the  gaping 
wounds  of  society  will  be  bound  and  healed  ; 
for  Christ  alone,  by  His  humanity  and  Church, 
can  be  the  meeting-place  for  all  kinds  and 
conditions  of  men.  yvk  Cure  of  Souls. 


May  4 

T  ESUS  wrote  no  book  ;  He  formed  no  system  j 
J  His  words  were  jets  of  truth,  and  chose 
their  own  forms.  The  Empire  was  not  within 
the  consciousness  of  Jesus  :  His  only  point  of 
contact  with  Rome  was  the  Cross.  When  His 
following  wished  to  make  Him  a  King,  He  shud- 
dered and  fled  as  from  an  insult.  As  for  wealth, 
it  seemed  so  dangerous  that  He  laid  poverty  as 
a  condition  on  His  disciples,  and  Himself  knew 
not  where  to  lay  His  head.  You  cannot  trace 
Jesus  :  you  cannot  analyse  Jesus.  His  intense 
spirituality  of  soul,  His  simplicity  of  thought, 
His  continual  self-abnegation,  and  His  unaf- 
fected humility  descended  on  a  worn-out  hope- 
less world,  like  dew  upon  the  dry  grass. 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


May  5 

"T^EAR  MISS  CARNEGIE,  — They  say 
JLx  that  a  woman  always  knows  when  a  man 
loves  her,  and  if  so  you  will  not  be  astonished 
at  this  letter.  From  that  day  I  saw  you  in 
Drumtochty  Kirk  I  have  loved  you,  and  every 
week  I  love  you  more.  My  mother  is  the  only 
other  woman  I  have  ever  cared  for,  and  that  is 
different.  Will  you  be  my  wife  ?  .  .  .  You 
will  have  all  my  heart,  and  I  '11  do  my  best  to 
make  you  happy. 

"  I  am,  yours  very  sincerely, 

"  HAY." 

^^  Kate  Carnegie. 

May  6 

LORD  HAY,  —You  have  done 
me  the  greatest  honour  any  woman  can 
receive  at  your  hands,  and  for  two  days  I  have 
thought  of  nothing  else.  If  it  were  enough 
that  your  wife  should  like  and  respect  you,  then 
I  would  at  once  accept  you  as  my  betrothed, 
but  as  it  is  plain  to  me  that  no  woman  ought 
to  marry  any  one  unless  she  also  loves  him,  I 
am  obliged  to  refuse  one  of  the  truest  men  I 
have  ever  met,  for  whom  I  have  a  very  kindly 
place  in  my  heart,  and  whose  happiness  I  shall 
always  desire.  —  Believe  me,  yours  sincerely, 
"KATE  CARNEGIE." 

Kate  Carnegie. 


May  7 

IT  goes  without  saying  that  Jesus'  sense  of 
the  Fatherhood  must  be  supreme.  It  is  a 
contradiction  of  the  Gospels  to  say  that  it  was 
exclusive.  Jesus  toiled  for  three  years  to  write 
the  truth  of  the  Fatherhood  on  the  minds  of  the 
disciples,  with  at  least  one  result,  that  it  is  in- 
terwoven with  the  pattern  of  the  Gospels.  He 
pleaded  also  with  His  friends  that  they  should 
receive  it  into  their  hearts  till  St.  John  filled  .his 
epistles  with  this  word.  With  minute  and  af- 
fectionate care,  Jesus  described,  the  whole  circle 
of  religious  thought,  and  stated  it  in  terms  of  the 
Fatherhood.  The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


May  8 

THE  minister  stood  still  before  that  spec- 
tacle, his  face  bathed  in  the  golden  glory, 
and  then  before  his  eyes  the  gold  deepened  into 
an  awful  red,  and  the  red  passed  into  shades  of 
violet  and  green,  beyond  painter's  hand  or  the 
imagination  of  man.  It  seemed  to  him  as  if  a 
victorious  saint  had  entered  through  the  gates 
into  the  city,  washed  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb, 
and  the  after-glow  of  his  mother's  life  fell  sol- 
emnly on  his  soul.  The  last  trace  of  sunset  had 
faded  from  the  hills  when  the  minister  came  in, 
and  his  face  was  of  one  who  had  seen  a  vision. 
Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier  Busk, 


May  9 

WHEN  the  first  ray  shot  through  the  win- 
dow and  trembled  on  the  bed,  Jamie 
raised  himself  and  listened.     He  shaded  his  eyes 
with  his  hand,  as  if  he  were  watching  for  some 
one  and  could  not  see  clearly  for  excess  of  light. 
"Menie!"   he  cried  suddenly,  with  a  new 
voice,  "  a've  keepit  oor  tryst." 

When  they  laid  him  in  the  coffin  —  the  Bible 

in  his  hands  — •  the  smile  was  still  on  his  face, 

and  he  appeared  a  man  some  forty  years  of 

age-  The  Days  of  Auld Lang  Syne. 

* 

May  10 

JESUS'  Kingdom  commends  itself  to  the 
J  imagination  because  it  is  to  come,  when 
God's  will  is  done  on  earth  as  it  is  done  in 
heaven  —  it  is  the  Kingdom  of  the  Beatitudes. 
It  commends  itself  to  the  reason  because  it  has 
come  wherever  any  one  is  attempting  God's  will 
—  it  is  the  Kingdom  of  the  Parables.  An  ideal 
state,  it  ever  allures  and  inspires  its  subjects  ; 
a  real  state,  it  sustains,  commands  them.  Had 
Jesus  conceived  His  Kingdom  as  in  the  future 
only,  He  had  made  His  disciples  dreamers  ;  had 
He  centred  it  in  the  present  only,  He  had  made 
them  theorists.  As  it  is,  one  labours  on  its 
building  with  a  splendid  model  before  his  eyes; 
one  possesses  it  in  his  heart,  and  yet  is  ever  enter- 
ing into  its  fulness.  The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


May  ii 

~T)ETWEEN  our  science  and  every  other 
D  there  is  this  difference,  that  in  other  de- 
partments of  knowledge  one  must  know  to  love, 
in  Christian  theology  one  must  love  to  know. 
In  vain  will  be  every  place  of  learning,  however 
thoroughly  equipped,  and  any  masters,  however 
scholarly  ;  in  vain  will  be  all  books  and  study, 
if  the  soul  have  no  spiritual  vision. 

The  Cure  of  Souls. 


May 


12 


JESUS'  idea  lifts  Christianity  above  the  plane 
of  arid  discussion  and  places  it  in  the  region 
of  poetry,  where  the  emotions  have  full  play  and 
Faith  is  vision.  Theology  becomes  the  expla- 
nation of  the  fellowship  between  the  soul  and 
Jesus.  Regeneration  is  the  entrance  into  His 
life,  Justification  the  partaking  of  His  Cross, 
Sanctification  the  transformation  into  His  char- 
acter, Death  the  coming  of  the  Lord,  Heaven 
His  unveiled  Face.  Doctrines  will  be  but  moods 
of  the  Christ-consciousness;  parables  of  the 
Christ-life.  Suffering  will  be  the  baptism  of 
Jesus  and  the  drinking  of  His  cup,  and  if  every 
saint  have  not  the  stigmata  on  his  hands  and  feet, 
he  will  at  least,  like  Simon  the  Cyrenian,  have 
the  mark  of  the  Cross  upon  his  shoulder.  And 
service  will  be  the  personal  tribute  to  Jesus, 
whom  we  shall  recognise  under  any  disguise. 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


May  13 

"ILLUSTRATION  is  either  panoramic  or 
J.  miniature  painting,  but,  on  the  whole,  must 
be  on  the  larger  rather  than  on  the  smaller  scale. 
Whether  it  be  description  or  allusion,  the  illus- 
tration is  never  to  be  used  as  a  mere  opportunity 
of  displaying  the  speaker's  eloquence  or  learn- 
ing. It  is  not  a  pyrotechnic  display  before 
which  a  crowd  stands  in  admiration,  but  a  lamp 
by  whose  light  the  traveller  finds  his  way  along 
the  dark  street.  The  Cure  0/So«Is. 

* 

May  14 

"  T^HERE  'S  some  o'  thae  Muirtown  drapers 

JL  can  busk  oot  their  windows  that  ye  canna 
pass  withoot  lookin' ;  there 's  bits  o'  blue  and  bits 
o*  red,  and  a  ribbon  here  an'  a  lace  yonder. 

"It's  a  bonnie  show  and  denty,  an'  no 
wunner  the  lassies  stan'  and  stare. 

"  But  gae  intae  the  shop,  and  peety  me, 
there  's  next  tae  naethin' ;  it 's  a'  in  the  window. 

"  Noo,  that's  Maister  Popinjay,  as  neat  an' 
fikey  a  little  mannie  as  ever  a'  saw  in  a  black  goon. 

"  His  bit  sermon  wes  six  poems  —  five  a'  hed 
heard  afore — four  anecdotes — three  aboot  him- 
sel'  and  ain  aboot  a  lord  —  twa  burnies,  ae  floo'r 
gairden,  and  a  snowstorm,  wi'  the  text  thirteen 
times  and  <  beloved'  twal;  that  was  a' ;  a  takin' 
window,  and  Netherton's  lassies  cudna  sleep 
thinkhV  o'  him."  Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier  Bush. 


May  15 

"XT  EITHER  this  world  in  its  poverty  nor  the 
1  i  next  in  its  wealth  is  to  be  compared  with 
life,  any  more  than  a  body  with  a  soul.  The 
great  loss  of  the  present  is  to  exchange  your  life 
for  this  world,  the  great  gain  in  the  world  to 
come  is  still  to  obtain  life.  The  point  of  con- 
nection between  the  seen  and  the  unseen  —  the 
only  bridge  that  spans  the  gulf — is  life.  In 
this  state  of  things  we  settle  its  direction,  in  the 
next  we  shall  see  its  perfection.  According  to 
the  drift  of  Jesus'  preaching,  the  whole  spiritual 
content  of  this  present  life,  its  knowledge,  skill, 
aspirations,  character,  will  be  carried  over  into 
the  future,  and  life  hereafter  be  the  continuation 
of  life  here.  The  Mind  Ofthe  Master. 

* 

May  1 6 

HIS  aunt  could  only  meet  him  in  the  study, 
and   when    he   looked  on   her  his    lip 
quivered,  for  his  heart  was  wrung  with  one  wist- 
ful regret. 

"  Oh,  auntie,  if  she  had  only  been  spared  to 
see  this  day,  and  her  prayers  answered." 
But  his  aunt  flung  her  arms  round  his  neck. 
"Dinna  be  cast  doon,   laddie,    nor  be  un- 
belie  vin' .     Yir  mither  has  heard  every  word,  and 
is  satisfied,  for  ye  did  it  in  remembrance  o'  her, 
and  yon  was  yir  mither' s  sermon." 

Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier  Bush. 


May  17 

r~p  RAVEL  must  be  used  very  skilfully  and 
J.  sparingly,  because  the  Righi  and  the  Bay 
of  Naples  are  not  now  unknown  to  a  congrega- 
tion. On  the  whole,  it  may  be  also  better  for 
the  average  man  not  to  go  to  the  Holy  Land 
for  the  sake  of  his  people  unless  he  has  great 
self-control.  The  Cure  of  Souls. 

* 

May  1 8 

"DOOK-SHELVES  had  long  ago  failed  to 
JL)  accommodate  Rabbi's  treasures,  and  the 
floor  had  been  bravely  utilised.  Islands  of  books, 
rugged  and  perpendicular,  rose  on  every  side; 
long  promontories  reached  out  from  the  shore, 
varied  by  bold  headlands;  and  so  broken  and 
varied  was  that  floor  that  the  Rabbi  was  pleased 
to  call  it  the  ./Egean  Sea,  where  he  had  his 
Lesbos  and  his  Samos.  It  is  absolutely  incred- 
ible, but  it  is  all  the  same  a  simple  fact,  that 
he  knew  every  book  and  its  location,  having  a 
sense  of  the  feel  as  well  as  the  shape  of  his 
favourites.  This  was  not  because  he  had  the 
faintest  approach  to  orderliness  —  for  he  would 
take  down  twenty  volumes  and  never  restore 
them  to  the  same  place  by  any  chance.  It  was 
a  sort  of  motherly  instinct  by  which  he  watched 
over  them  all,  even  loved  prodigals  that  wan- 
dered over  all  the  study  and  then  set  off  on 
adventurous  journeys  into  distant  rooms. 

Kate  Carnegie. 


May  19 

WERE  it  possible  to  place  a  foolscap  on 
one  of  our  most  sublime  ideas,  and  turn 
immortality  itself  into  an  absurdity,  it  is  done 
when  a  vulgar  imagination  has  peddled  with  the 
details  of  the  future,  and  has  accomplished  a 
travesty  of  the  Revelation  of  St.  John.  From 
time  to  time  ignorant  charlatans  will  trade  on 
religious  simplicity  and  trifle  with  sacred  emo- 
tions, whose  foolishness  and  profanity  go  before 
them  unto  judgment.  Heaven  is  the  noblest 
imagination  of  the  human  heart,  and  any  one 
who  robs  this  imagination  of  its  august  dignity 
and  spiritual  splendour  has  committed  a  crime. 
The  Mind  of  the  Master. 

* 

May  20 

WHEN  they  parted  that  Sabbath  afternoon 
it  was  the  younger  man  that  had  lost 
his  temper,  and  the  other  did  not  offer  to  shake 
hands. 

Perhaps  the  minister  would  have  understood 
Lachlan  better  if  he  had  known  that  the  old  man 
could  not  touch  food  when  he  got  home,  and 
spent  the  evening  in  a  fir  wood  praying  for  the 
lad  he  had  begun  to  love.  And  Lachlan  would 
have  had  a  lighter  heart  if  he  had  heard  the 
minister  questioning  himself  whether  he  had 
denied  the  Evangel  or  sinned  against  one  of 
Christ's  disciples.  They  argued  together  ;  they 
prayed  apart.  Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier  Bush. 


May  21 

THE  minister  ought  to  be  soaked  in  life  ; 
not  that  his  sermons  may  never  escape 
from  local  details,  but  rather  that,  being  in  con- 
tact with  the  life  nearest  him,  he  may  state  his 
gospel  in  terms  of  human  experience.  No  doc- 
trine of  the  Christian  Faith  is  worth  preserving 
which  cannot  be  verified  in  daily  life,  and  no 
doctrine  will  need  to  be  defended  when  stated 
in  human  terms  —  above  all,  in  the  language 
of  Home.  The  Cure 


May  22 

"TTTE'REa*  sorry  for  Burnbrae,  for  the 
V  V  brunt  o*  the  battle  'ill  fa'  on  him,  an' 
he  's  been  a  gude  neebur  tae  a'body,  but  there 's 
nae  fear  o'  him  buying  his  lease  wi'  his  kirk. 
Ma  certes,  the  factor  chose  the  worst  man  in 
the  Glen  for  an  affgo.  Burnbrae  wud  raither 
see  his  hale  plenishing  gae  doon  the  Tochty 
than  play  Judas  to  his  kirk.  It 's  an  awfu'  peety 
that  oor  auld  Scotch  kirk  wes  split,  and  it  wud 
be  a  heartsome  sicht  tae  see  the  Glen  a'  aneath 
ae  roof  aince  a  week.  But  ae  thing  we  maun 
grant,  the  Disruption  lat  the  warld  ken  there 
wes  some  spunk  in  Scotland.  There  's  nae 
man  a'  wud  raither  welcome  tae  oor  kirk  than 
Burnbrae,  gin  he  cam  o'  his  ain  free  will,  but 
it  wud  be  better  that  the  kirk  sud  stand  empty 
than  be  filled  wi'  a  factor's  hirelings." 

The  Days  of  Auld  Lang  Syne. 


May  23 

'T^HEOLOGICAL  pedantry  had    done    its 
JL      work  in  the  days  of  Jesus,  and  had  reduced 
the  sublime   ethics  of  the  Old  Testament  to  a 
wearisome  absurdity.      The  beneficent  law  of 
rest,  so  full  of  sympathy  with  struggling  people, 
was  translated  into  a  series  of  regulations  of  ped- 
dling detail  and  incredible  childishness.      The 
"  clean  heart  "  of  the  prophets  sank  into  an  end- 
less washing  of  hands,  and  filial  piety  was  wan- 
tonly outraged  that  the  temple  taxes  might  be 
swollen.     Jewish  faith  had    become  a  painted 
show,  a  husk  in  which  the  kernel  had  withered. 
The  Mind  o/ the  Master. 
* 

May  24 

r  I  AHE  contrast  is  not  between  those  who  wor- 
_L  ship  in  churches  and  those  who  worship 
at  home,  but  between  those  whose  faith  in  the 
Risen  Christ  is  so  real  and  strong  that  it  draws 
men  together  on  the  first  day  of  the  week  to  cele- 
brate His  resurrection,  by  which  He  has  become 
the  Living  Way  unto  the  Father,  and  those  to 
whom  this  chief  event  in  human  history  is  a  fond 
imagination,  and  whose  idea  of  God  is  so  vague 
and  impersonal,  that  they  can  find  Him  in  the 
running  of  a  stream  as  surely  as  in  the  face  of 
Christ.  The  Cure  of  Souls. 


May  25 

f*  ARMICHAEL  was  standing  in  the  shadow 

V as  Saunderson  came  along  the  road,  and 

the  faint  light  was  a  perfect  atmosphere  for  the 
dear  old  bookman.  Standing  at  his  full  height 
he  might  have  been  six  feet,  but,  with  much  por- 
ing over  books  and  meditation,  he  had  de- 
scended some  three  inches.  His  hair  was  long, 
not  because  he  made  any  conscious  claim  to 
genius,  but  because  he  forgot  to  get  it  cut, 
and,  with  his  flowing,  unt rimmed  beard,  was 
now  quite  grey.  Within  his  clothes  he  was  the 
merest  skeleton,  being  so  thin  that  his  shoulder- 
blades  stood  out  in  sharp  outline,  and  his  hands 
were  almost  transparent.  The  redeeming  fea- 
ture in  Saunderson  was  his  eyes,  which  were 
large  and  eloquent,  of  a  trustful,  wistful  hazel, 
the  beautiful  eyes  of  a  dumb  animal. 

Kate  Carnegie. 

* 

May  26 

JESUS  did  not  ignore  the  black  shadow  of 
sin;  He  did  not  fall  into  the  sickly  opti- 
mism of  last  century.  Jesus  did  not  regard  man 
as  the  sport  of  a  cruel  Fate  ;  He  did  not  yield 
to  the  gloomy  pessimism  which  is  settling  down 
on  this  dying  century.  He  illuminated  the 
darkness  of  human  misery  with  the  light  of  a 
Divine  purpose,  and  made  the  evidence  for  des- 
pair an  argument  for  hope.  The  Mind Ofthe  Master. 


May  27 

WHEN  a  speaker  is  pleading  a  great  cause, 
and  sees  hard-headed  men  glaring  be- 
fore them  with  such  ferocity  that  every  one 
knows  they  are  afraid  of  breaking  down,  let  him 
stop  in  the  middle  of  a  paragraph  and  take  the 
collection,  and  if  he  be  declaring  the  Evangel, 
and  a  certain  tenderness  comes  over  the  faces 
of  the  people,  let  him  close  his  words  to  them 
and  call  them  to  prayer.  The  Cure  of  Souls. 

* 

May  28 

"  T  AMIE,"  and  a  flush  of  joy  came  over  the 

I       pale,  thin  face,  that  he   would  hardly 

have  recognised,  "  this  is  gude  ...  o'  ye  ... 

tae  come  sae  far,  ...  a'  wes  wantin'  .  .  .  tae 

see  a  Drumtochty  face  afore  a' "     Then 

the  tears  choked  her  words. 

"  Ou  ay,"  began  Jamie  with  deliberation. 
"  You  see,  a'  wes  up  lookin'  aifter  some  o* 
Drumsheugh's  fat  cattle  that  he  sent  afF  tae  the 
London  market,  so  of  coorse  a'  cudna  be  here 
withoot  giein'  ye  a  cry. 

"  It  wes  a  ploy  tae  find  ye,  juist  like  hide- 
an'-seek,  but,  ma  certes,  ye  hev  got  a  fine 
hame  at  laist,"  and  Jamie  appraised  the  dainty 
bed,  the  soft  carpet,  the  little  table  with  ice  and 
fruit  and  flowers,  at  their  untold  value  of 
kindness.  The  Days  o/Auld Lang  Syne, 


May  29 

NO  Christian  man  now  believes  that  a  word 
can  be  said  for  slavery.  No  one  now 
would  be  moved  by  a  hundred  texts  in  its  favour. 
Slavery  has  been  condemned  both  by  the  spirit 
and  by  the  teaching  of  Jesus.  When  He  taught 
the  Fatherhood  of  God,  the  brotherhood  of  man 
followed,  and  the  end  of  slavery  became  merely 
a  matter  of  time.  It  is  growing  clearer  that 
many  doctrines  of  Christian  men  are  not  lasting, 
but  that  every  word  of  Jesus  is  eternal. ' 

The  Mind  of  the  Matter. 
* 

May  30 

SHE  is  a  good  wife  who  manages  the  minis- 
ter's house  with  skill  and  economy,  so  that 
he  has  to  give  no  thought  to  domestic  affairs, 
who  brings  up  her  children  in  the  Divine  Love, 
whose  father  has  so  little  time  for  their  over- 
sight, who  carries  herself  so  wisely  and  kindly 
among  his  people  that  none  are  offended  —  for 
they  have  a  sense  of  property  in  her  too  which  is 
very  pleasant:  who  ad  vises  her  husband  on  every 
important  matter,  and  often  restrains  him  from 
hasty  speech  ;  and  who  receives  him  weary, 
discouraged,  irritable,  and  sends  him  out  again 
strong,  hopeful,  sweet-tempered. 

The  Cure  of  Souls. 


May  31 

"  TV  T  A  bairn !  ma  bairn!  God  hae  mercy  upon 

IV J.  her!"  and  Elspeth's  cry  ran  through 
the  bonnie  birk  wood  and  rose  through  the 
smiling  sky  to  a  God  that  seemed  to  give  no 
heed. 

"  Whar  is  she  ?  "  was  all  Posty  asked,  tear- 
ing off  his  coat  and  waistcoat,  for  he  had  heard 
the  cry  as  he  was  going  to  the  mill,  and  took  the 
lade  at  a  leap  to  lose  no  time. 

"  Yonder,  Posty,  but  ye  .    .    ." 

He  was  already  in  the  depths,  while  the 
mother  hung  over  the  edge  of  the  merciless 
flood.  It  seemed  an  hour —  it  was  not  actually 
a  minute  —  before  he  appeared,  with  the  blood 
pouring  from  a  gash  on  his  forehead,  and  hung 
for  a  few  seconds  on  a  rock  for  air. 

"  Come  oot,  Posty;  ye  hae  a  wife  an'  bairns, 
an'  ye  '11  be  drooned!  "  for  Elspeth  was  a  brave- 
hearted,  unselfish  woman. 

"A '11  hae  Elsie  first,"  and  down  he  went 
again,  where  the  torrent  raged  against  the  rocks. 

This  time  he  came  up  at  once,  with  Elsie,  a 
poor  little  bundle,  in  his  arms. 

"  Tak  her  quick!  "  he  gasped,  clinging  with 
one  hand  to  a  jagged  point. 

The  Days  of  A  uld  Lang  Syne. 


J 


une 


"  HHHIS  is  the  last  time  we  shall  meet,  Miss 
J.       Carnegie.      Forgive  me  for  my  love, 
and  believe  that  one  man  will  ever  remember 
and  .  .  .  pray  for  you." 

Carmichael  bowed  low,  the  last  sunshine  of 
the  evening  playing  on  his  fair  hair,  and  turned 
to  go. 

"  One  word,  if  you  please,"  said  Kate,  and 
they  looked  into  one  another's  eyes,  the  blue 
and  brown,  seeing  many  things  that  cannot  be 
written.  "  You  may  be  forgiven  for  .  .  .  lov- 
ing me,  because  you  could  not  help  that  "  — 
this  with  a  very  roguish  look,  our  Kate  all 
over  —  "  and  I  suppose  you  must  be  forgiven 
for  listening  to  foolish  gossip,  since  people  will 
tell  lies"  — this  with  a  stamp  of  the  foot,  our 
Kate  again  —  "but  I  shall  never  forgive  you 
if  you  leave  me,  never" — this  was  a  new 
Kate,  like  to  the  opening  of  a  flower. 

"Why?  Tell  me  plainly;"  and  in  the 
silence  Carmichael  heard  a  trout  leap  in  the 
river. 

"Because  I  love  you." 

The  Tochty  water  sang  a  pleasant  song,  and 
the  sun  set  gloriously  behind  Ben  Urtach. 

Kate  Carnegie. 


June  i 

WE  must  simply  accept  the  words  of  Jesus, 
and  it  is  an  unspeakable  relief  to  find 
our  Master  crowning  His  teaching  on  character 
with  the  scene  of  the  Last  Judgment.  The 
prophecy  of  conscience  will  not  be  put  to 
shame,  nor  the  continuity  of  this  life  be  broken. 
When  the  parabolic  form  is  reduced  and  the 
accidental  details  laid  aside,  it  remains  that  the 
Book  of  Judgment  is  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount, 
and  that  each  soul  is  tried  by  its  likeness  to  the 
Judge  Himself.  Jesus  has  prepared  the  world 
for  a  startling  surprise,  but  it  will  not  be  the 
contradiction  of  our  present  moral  experience: 
it  will  be  the  revelation  of  our  present  hidden 
character.  The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


June  2 

IT  is  insulting  to  the  preacher  to  suppose 
that  because  he  journeyed  towards  the 
south  pole  to-day  he  denies  the  north  pole, 
and  exasperating  to  the  hearers  to  be  hurried 
backwards  and  forwards  in  opposite  directions 
lest  they  should  rush  to  extremes.  Preacher 
and  hearers  should  give  themselves  to  one  idea 
with  as  much  concentration  as  if  there  were  not 
another  in  the  universe  of  thought.  This  is  to 
focus  the  mind.  The  Cure  of  Souls. 


June  3 

~T)  EYOND  all  question,  and  apart  from  all 
JD  theories,  Jesus  is  the  Revelation  of  the 
Divine  goodness:  the  incarnate  Law  of  God: 
the  objective  conscience  of  Humanity.  As 
soon  as  we  enter  the  presence  of  Jesus  we  lose 
the  liberty  of  moral  indifference.  One  Person 
we  cannot  avoid  —  the  inevitable  Christ;  one 
dilemma  we  must  face,  "  What  shall  I  do  with 
Jesus  which  is  called  Christ?"  The  spiritual 
majesty  of  this  Man  arraigns  us  at  His  bar 
from  which  we  cannot  depart  till  we  become 
His  disciples  or  His  critics,  His  friends  or  His 
enemies.  The  Mind  of  the  Master. 

# 

June  4 

T  I  "HERE  is  a  certain  point  where  the  road 
-L  from  Kildrummie  disentangles  itself  from 
the  wood,  and  begins  the  descent  to  Tochty 
Bridge.  Drumtochty  exiles  used  to  stand  there 
for  a  space  and  rest  their  eyes  on  the  Glen 
which  they  could  now  see,  from  the  hills  that 
made  its  western  wall  to  the  woods  of  Tochty 
that  began  below  the  parish  kirk;  and  though 
each  man  might  not  be  able  to  detect  the  old 
home,  he  had  some  landmark  —  a  tree,  or  a 
rise  of  the  hill  —  to  distinguish  the  spot  where 
he  was  born,  and,  if  such  were  still  his  good 
fortune,  where  true  hearts  were  waiting  to  bid 
him  welcome.  The  Days  of  Auld Lang  Syne. 


June  5 

«  A  LMICHTY  FATHER,  we  are  a'  Thy 
zx  puir  and  sinfu'  bairns,  wha  wearied  o' 
hame  and  gaed  awa'  intae  the  far  country.  For- 
give us,  for  we  didna  ken  what  we  were  leavin' 
or  the  sair  hert  we  gied  oor  Father.  It  was  weary 
wark  tae  live  wi'  oor  sins,  but  we  wud  never 
hev  come  back  had  it  no  been  for  oor  Elder 
Brither.  He  cam1  a  long  road  tae  find  us, 
and  a  sore  travail  He  had  afore  He  set  us  free. 
He's  been  a  gude  Brither  tae  us,  and  we've 
been  a  heavy  chairge  tae  Him.  May  He  keep 
a  firm  haud  o'  us,  and  guide  us  in  the  richt 
road,  and  bring  us  back  gin  we  wander,  and 
tell  us  a'  we  need  tae  know  till  the  gloamin' 
come.  Gither  us  in  then,  we  pray  Thee,  and 
a'  we  luve,  no  a  bairn  missin',  and  may  we  sit 
doon  for  ever  in  oor  ain  Father's  House. 
Amen. '  *  Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier  Busk. 

* 

June  6 

THE  preacher  may  then  congratulate  him- 
self, for  no  teacher  is  satisfied  till  he  has 
so  lodged  an  idea  in  the  mind  that  his  people 
claim  it  as  his  own.  He  has  an  ample  reward 
for  his  pains,  when  his  people  some  day  turn 
upon  him  and  threaten  to  rend  him  for  criticis- 
ing an  idea  which  he  himself  taught  them  in 
the  agony  of  his  soul,  and  which  they  guard 
jealously  as  their  personal  property. 

The  Cure  of  Souls. 


June  7 

VERY  early  in  the  morning  Carmichael 
awoke,  and  being  tempted  by  the  sunrise, 
arose  and  went  downstairs.  As  he  came  near 
the  study  door  he  heard  a  voice  in  prayer,  and 
knew  that  the  Rabbi  had  been  all  night  in 
intercession. 

"  Thou  hast  denied  me  wife  and  child ;  deny 
me  not  Thyself.  ...  A  stranger  Thou  hast 
made  me  among  men  j  refuse  me  not  a  place  in 
the  City.  .  .  .  Deal  graciously  with  this  lad  who 
has  been  to  me  as  a  son  in  the  Gospel.  .  .  .  He 
has  not  despised  an  old  man ;  put  not  his  heart 

to  Confusion.    ..."  Kaie  Carnegie. 

* 

June  8 

T  ESUS  utilises  the  great  parable  of  the  Family 
J  for  the  last  time;  and  as  He  had  invested 
Fatherhood  and  Sonhood  with  their  highest 
meaning  so  He  now  spiritualises  Home.  \Vhat 
Mary's  cottage  at  Bethany  had  been  to  the  little 
company  during  the  Holy  Week,  with  its  quiet 
rest  after  the  daily  turmoil  of  Jerusalem ;  what 
some  humble  house  on  the  shore  of  Galilee  was 
to  St.  John,  with  its  associations  of  Salome ;  what 
the  great  Temple  was  to  the  pious  Jews,  with 
its  Presence  of  the  Eternal,  that  on  the  higher 
scale  was  Heaven.  Jesus  availed  Himself  of  a 
wealth  of  tender  recollections  and  placed  Heaven 
in  the  heart  of  humanity  when  He  said,  "  My 
Father's  House."  The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


June  9 

'  1  "HERE  is  no  audience  which  does  not  ex- 
J.  pect  a  certain  elevation  of  style  in  religious 
speech,  and  which  does  not  resent  what  is  vulgar 
or  technical.  A  preacher  does  not  conciliate  an 
uneducated  audience  by  the  use  of  slang  or  lapses 
into  buffoonery,  nor  does  he  please  cultured  peo- 
ple by  scholastic  terms.  People  have  an  instinct 
about  what  they  like  to  hear  from  the  pulpit,  and 
their  desire  is  the  language  of  the  home  and  the 
market-place,  raised  to  its  highest  power  and 
glorified.  The  Cure  0/souls. 


June  10 

SOME  have  argued  that  Religion  is  the  ful- 
filment of  duty ;  this  is  to  settle  Religion 
in  the  conscience  and  to  reduce  it  to  morality. 
Some  have  insisted  that  Religion  is  the  accept- 
ance of  revealed  truth ;  this  is  to  settle  Religion 
in  the  reason,  and  to  resolve  Religion  into  knowl- 
edge. Some  have  pleaded  that  Religion  is  a 
state  of  feeling ;  this  is  to  settle  Religion  in  the 
heart  and  to  dissolve  it  into  emotion.  The 
philosopher,  the  theologian,  the  mystic  can  each 
make  out  a  good  case,  for  each  has  without  doubt 
represented  a  side  of  Religion.  None  of  the 
three  can  exclude  the  other  two ;  all  three  cannot 
include  Religion.  The  Mindofthe  Master. 


June  1 1 

**T  T  7 HEN  a'  entered  this  hoose  ma  hert  wes 
V  V      sair,  for  a'  thocht  a  defenceless  lassie 
bed  been  ill-used  in  her  straits,  an'  noo  a'  wud 
like  to  apologeeze  for  ma  hot  words." 

"Toots,  man,  what  nonsense  is  this  you're 
talking  ? "  said  Sir  Andrew ;  "  you  don't  under- 
stand the  situation.  The  fact  is,  I  wanted  to 
study  Lily's  case,  and  it  was  handier  to  have 
her  in  my  house.  Just  medical  selfishness." 

"A'  micht  hae  thocht  o'  that,"  and  the  in- 
telligence in  Jamie's  eye  was  so  sympathetic  that 
Sir  Andrew  quailed  before  it.  "  We  hev  a  doc- 
tor in  oor  pairish  that 's  yir  verra  marra  [equal} 
—  aye  practeesin'  on  the  sick  fouk,  and  for 
lookin'  aifter  himsel'  he  passes  belief. ' ' 

The  Days  of  Auld  Lang  Syne. 
* 

June  12 

WHEN  Jamie  parted  with  Drumsheugh  on 
the  way  home,  and  turned  down  the  road 
to  Mary's  cottage,  to  give  her  the  lilies  and  a  full 
account  of  her  lassie,  Drumsheugh  watched  him 
till  he  disappeared. 

"Thirty  pund  wes  what  he  drew  frae  the 
Muirtown  bank  oot  o'  his  savin's,  for  the  clerk 
telt  me  himsel',  and  naebody  jalouses  the  trick. 
It 's  the  cleverest  thing  Jamie  ever  did,  an'  ane 
o'  the  best  a've  seen  in  Drumtochty." 

The  Days  of  A  uld  Lang  Syne. 


June  13 

T~)  ELIGION  with  Jesus  is  not  merely  an 
-LX  influence  diffused  through  our  spiritual 
nature  like  heat  through  iron ;  it  has  a  separate 
existence.  Religion  is  not  a  nomad  that  has  to 
receive  hospitality  in  some  foreign  department 
of  the  soul ;  it  has  its  own  home  and  habitation. 
It  is  a  faculty  of  our  constitution  as  much  as 
Conscience  or  Reason,  with  its  own  sphere  of 
operations  and  peculiar  function.  .  .  .  Jesus  did 
not  create  Religion,  it  is  a  human  instinct.  He 
defined  it,  and  Jesus'  synonym  for  the  faculty 
of  Religion  is  Faith.  The  mnd  gfthe  Master. 


June  14 

WE  are  all  apt,  as  preachers,  to  be  brow- 
beaten and  reduced  to  silence  by  the  im- 
pudent assertion  that  an  average  audience  has  no 
interest  in  theology,  and  will  only  listen  to  us 
upon  the  astounding  condition  that  we  do  not 
give  them  the  one  thing  we  are  supposed  to  have 
thoroughly  learned.  They  expect  from  a  his- 
torian history,  from  a  geologist  geology,  but 
from  a  teacher  of  theology  —  and  we  are  the 
only  teachers  of  theology  for  the  public — any- 
thing, however  remote  from  the  subject,  pro- 
vided it  be  neither  very  solid  nor  thoughtful. 

The  Cure  of  Siruls. 


June  15 

HAD  Jesus  repeated  the  hackneyed  pro- 
gramme of  negation  with  a  table  of 
"shalt  nots,"  He  would  have  afforded  another 
dreary  instance  of  moral  failure.  When  Jesus 
published  His  positive  principle  of  Love,  and  left 
each  man  to  draw  up  his  own  table,  He  gave 
a  brilliant  pledge  of  spiritual  success.  By  this 
magical  word  of  Love  He  not  only  brought  the 
dry  bones  together  and  made  a  unity;  He  clothed 
them  with  flesh  and  made  a  living  body.  He 
may  have  forfeited  the  name  of  moralist,  He  has 
gained  the  name  of  Saviour. 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


June  1 6 

OF  course  a  system  in  its  bare  outlines  is 
unsightly  and  repulsive,  and  people  have 
complained,  with  fair  reason,  of  the  dry  bones 
of  doctrine.  An  uncovered  skeleton  is  certainly 
a  very  unlovely  object,  and  defies  the  art  of 
speech,  but  it  lies  behind  the  rounded  grace  of 
Venus  de  Medici,  and  alone  sustains  the  weight 
of  language.  How  far  the  closely  knit  and 
symmetrical  form  ought  to  appear  through  the 
flesh  and  blood  may  be  matter  of  taste,  there 
being,  so  to  say,  masculine  and  feminine  con- 
tours of  thought,  but  luxuriance  and  winsome- 
ness  must  rest  on  strength.  -p^  Cure  of  Souls. 


June  17 

WE  did  not  speak  of  the  "  higher  life,"  nor 
of  a  "beautiful  Christian,"  for  this 
way  of  putting  it  would  not  have  been  in 
keeping  with  the  genius  of  Drumtochty.  Re- 
ligion there  was  very  lowly  and  modest  —  an 
inward  walk  with  God.  No  man  boasted  of 
himself,  none  told  the  secrets  of  the  soul.  But 
the  Glen  took  notice  of  its  saints,  and  did 
them  silent  reverence,  which  they  themselves 
never  knew.  Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier  Bush. 

*> 

June  1 8 

WE  have  a  robust  common  sense  of  moral- 
ity which  refuses  to  believe  that  it  does 
not  matter  whether  a  man  has  lived  like  the 
Apostle  Paul  or  the  Emperor  Nero.  One  may 
hesitate  to  speculate  about  the  circumstances 
of  the  other  world;  one  may  love  the  splendid 
imagination  of  the  Apocalypse  more  than  the 
vulgar  realism  of  modern  sentiment,  but  one 
can  never  crush  out  the  conviction  that  there 
must  be  one  place  for  St.  John,  who  was 
Jesus'  friend,  and  another  for  Judas  Iscariot, 
who  was  His  betrayer.  It  were  unreasonable 
that  this  mad  confusion  of  circumstances  should 
continue,  which  ties  up  the  saint  and  the  mis- 
creant together  to  the  misery  of  both;  it  were 
supremely  reasonable  that  this  tangle  be  un-^ 
ravelled  and  each  receive  his  satisfaction. 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


June  19 

HE  was  a  minister  of  Dunleith,  whose 
farmers  preferred  to  play  ball  against 
the  wall  of  the  kirk  to  hearing  him  preach, 
and  gave  him  insolence  on  his  offering  a  pious 
remonstrance.  Whereupon  the  Davidson  of 
that  day,  being,  like  all  his  race,  short  in 
stature  but  mighty  in  strength,  first  beat  the 
champion  player  one  Sabbath  morning  at  his 
own  game  to  tame  an  unholy  pride,  and  then 
thrashed  him  with  his  fist  to  do  good  to  his 
soul.  This  happy  achievement  in  practical 
theology  secured  an  immediate  congregation, 
and  produced  so  salutary  an  effect  on  the  schis- 
matic ball-player  that  he  became  in  due  course 
an  elder,  and  was  distinguished  for  his  severity 
in  dealing  with  persons  absenting  themselves 
from  public  worship,  or  giving  themselves  over- 
much to  vain  amusements.  jfaie  Carnegie. 


June  20 

OUR  attitude  to  self-appointed  religious 
speakers,  and  that  of  the  medical  pro- 
fession to  quacks,  is  a  striking  contrast.  We, 
as  a  rule,  welcome  this  assistance,  in  the  pub- 
lic interest,  and  doctors  will  have  none  of  it, 
also  in  the  public  interest.  Both  professions 
are  quite  unselfish.  Which  is  in  the  long-run 
right  ?  The  Cure  of  Souls. 


June  21 

IT  is  surely  a  narrow  mind,  and  worse  — 
a  narrow  heart  —  that  would  belittle  the 
noble  sayings  that  fell  from  the  lips  of  outside 
saints  or  discredit  the  virtues  of  their  character. 
Is  it  not  more  respectful  to  God,  the  Father  of 
mankind,  and  more  in  keeping  with  the  teaching 
of  the  Son  of  man,  to  believe  that  everywhere 
and  in  all  ages  can  be  found  not  only  the 
prophecies  and  broken  gleams,  but  also  the 
very  children  of  the  kingdom  ?  In  Clement's 
noble  words,  "  Some  with  the  consciousness 
of  what  Jesus  is  to  them,  others  not  as  yet  ; 
some  as  friends,  others  as  faithful  servants, 
others  barely  as  servants." 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


June  22 

THIS  evening  the  years  that  were  gone  came 
back  to  Burnbrae.  For  a  townsman  may 
be  born  in  one  city  and  educated  in  a  second, 
and  married  in  a  third,  and  work  in  a  fourth. 
His  houses  are  but  inns,  which  he  uses  and 
forgets  ;  he  has  no  roots,  and  is  a  vagrant  on 
the  face  of  the  earth.  But  the  countryman  is 
born  and  bred,  and  marries  and  toils  and  dies 
on  one  farm,  and  the  scene  he  looks  at  in  his 
old  age  is  the  same  he  saw  in  his  boyhood. 
His  roots  are  struck  deep  into  the  soil,  and  if 
you  tear  them  up,  his  heart  withers  and  dies. 

The  Days  of  Auld Lang  Syne. 


June  23 

"  1\/T  ODERATOR>  this  5s  a  terrible  calam- 
iVJ.  ity  that  hes  befaen  oor  brither,  and 
a'm  feelin'  as  if  a'  hed  lost  a  bairn  o'  my  ane, 
for  a  sweeter  lassie  didna  cross  oor  kirk  door. 
Nane  o'  us  want  tae  know  what  hes  happened 
or  where  she  hes  gane,  and  no  a  word  o'  this 
wull  cross  oor  lips.  Herfaither's  dune  mair 
than  cud  be  expeckit  o'  mortal  man,  and  noo 
we  have  oor  duty.  It's  no  the  way  o'  this 
Session  tae  cut  aff  ony  member  o'  the  flock  at  a 
stroke,  and  we  'ill  no  begin  with  Flora  Camp- 
bell. A'  move,  Moderator,  that  her  case  be 
left  tae  her  faither  and  yersel,  and  oor  neebur 
may  depend  on  it  that  Flora's  name  and  his  ain 
will  be  mentioned  in  oor  prayers,  ilka  mornin' 
an'  nicht  till  the  gude  Shepherd  o'  the  sheep 
brings  her  hame."  Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier  Bush. 

* 

June  24 

17  VERY  strong  and  clean  word  used  of  the 
\  ^  people  as  they  buy  and  sell,  joy  and 
sorrow,  labour  and  suffer,  should  be  in  the 
preacher's  store,  but  he  should  add  thereto 
splendid  and  gracious  words  from  Milton  and 
Spenser,  from  Goldsmith  and  Addison,  and 
other  masters  of  the  English  tongue.  The 
ground  may  be  a  homely  and  serviceable  grey, 
but  through  it  should  run  a  thread  of  gold. 

The  Cure  of  Souls. 


June  25 

HE  joineth  Himself  as  by  an  accident  to 
men  on  the  ways  of  life,  and  afterwards 
maketh  as  though  He  would  go  farther.  When 
they  constrain  Him  to  abide,  it  does  not  matter 
whether  the  soul  be  as  a  palace  or  a  cottage; 
He  will  enter,  and  the  tenant  will  become  a 
saint.  The  Upper  Room. 

WHEN  the   Evangel   ceased,  *or  fell  into 
contempt,  the  Church  grew  weak  and 
corrupt.    When  the  Evangel  asserted  its  ancient 
authority,   the   Church    arose  and  put  on   her 
<  <  beautiful  garments. ' '  The  Cure  of  Souls. 

J* 

June  26 

THE  ages  were  linked  together  by  a  long 
tragedy  of  disappointment  and  vanity,  but 
the  Tochty  ran  now  as  in  the  former  days. 
What  was  any  human  life  but  a  drop  in  the 
river  that  flowed  without  ceasing  to  the  un- 
known sea  ?  What  could  any  one  do  but 
yield  himself  to  necessity,  and  sumnjon  his 
courage  to  endure  ?  Then  at  the  singing  of  a 
bird  his  mood  lightened  and  was  changed,  as 
if  he  had  heard  the  Evangel.  God  was  over 
all,  and  life  was  immortal,  and  he  could  not 
be  wrong  who  did  the  will  of  God.  After  a 
day  of  conflict  peace  came  to  his  soul,  and  in 
the  soft  light  of  the  setting  sun  he  rose  to  go 
home.  Kate  Carnegie. 


June  27 

MARGET'S  was  an  old-fashioned  garden, 
with  pinks  and  daisies  and  forget-me- 
nots,  with  sweet-scented  wall-flower  and  thyme 
and  moss-roses,  where  nature  had  her  way,  and 
gracious  thoughts  could  visit  one  without  any 
jarring  note.  As  George's  voice  softened  to  the 
close,  I  caught  her  saying,  "  His  servants  shall 
see  His  face,"  and  the  peace  of  Paradise  fell 
upon  us  in  the  shadow  of  death. 

Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier  Bush. 


June  28 

WHEN  the  kingdom  comes  in  its  greatness, 
it  will  fulfil  every  religion  and  destroy 
none,  clearing  away  the  imperfect  and  opening 
up  reaches  of  goodness  not  yet  imagined,  till  it 
has  gathered  into  its  bosom  whatsoever  things 
are  true  and  honest  and  just  and  pure  and  lovely. 
It  standeth  on  the  earth  as  the  city  of  God  with 
its  gates  open  by  night  and  by  day,  into  which 
entereth  nothing  that  defileth,  but  into  which  is 
brought  the  glory  and  power  of  the  nations. 
It  is  the  natural  home  of  the  good;  as  Zwingli, 
the  Swiss  reformer,  said  in  his  dying  confes- 
sion, "  Not  one  good  man,  one  holy  spirit, 
one  faithful  soul,  whom  you  will  not  then 
behold  with  God."  The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


June  29 

YEAR  after  year  some  nameless  monk  la- 
bours on  a  rough  block  in  some  cathe- 
dral column  till  it  turns  into  the  very  likeness 
of  Christ.  He  dies,  and  they  bury  him  in  a 
forgotten  grave  ;  but  every  morning  the  light, 
streaming  through  the  eastern  window  over  the 
head  of  Christ  as  from  the  eyes  of  the  Judge, 
touches  with  gold  that  image  of  the  Lord 
wrought  by  His  servant,  and  as  the  generations 
pace  the  aisles  beneath,  high  above  them,  beau- 
tiful and  unchanging,  remains  the  unknown 
worker's  memorial.  The  Cure  of  Souls. 


June  30 

"A  *  LEFT  the  schule  afore  she  cam,  an'  the 
x\  first  time  a'  ever  kent  Marget  richt  wes 
the  day  she  settled  wi'  her  mither  in  the  cottar's 
hoose  on  Drumsheugh,  an'  she  'shed  ma  hert 
sin'  that  'oor. 

"  It  wesna  her  winsome  face  nor  her  gentle 
ways  that  drew  me,  Weelum;  it  wes  .  .  .  her 
soul,  the  gudeness  'at  lookit  oot  on  the  warld 
through  yon  grey  een,  sae  serious,  thochtfu', 
kindly. 

"  Nae  man  cud  say  a  rouch  word  or  hae  an 
ill  thocht  in  her  presence  ;  she  made  ye  better 
juist  tae  hear  her  speak  an'  stan'  aside  her  at 

the  wark.  '  '  The  Days  of  Aidd  Lang  Syne. 


July 


"  T    WOULD  like  to  speak  to  you  about  the 

-L     Sacrament  ;  it  was  lovely." 

"  Ye  dae  me  much  honour,  Miss  Carnegie," 
and  Marget  slightly  flushed,  "  an'  much  pleas- 
ure, for  there  is  naething  dearer  tae  me  than 
keeping  the  Sacrament  ;  it  is  my  joy  every  day 
and  muckle  comfort  in  life." 

"  But  I  thought  you  had  it  only  once  a 
year  ?  "  questioned  Kate. 

"  With  bread  and  wine  in  outward  sign  that 
is  once,  and  maybe  eneuch,  for  it  makes  ane 
high  day  for  us  all,  but  div  ye  not  think,  Miss 
Carnegie,  that  all  our  life  should  be  ane 
Sacrament  ?  " 

"  Tell  me,"  said  Kate,  looking  into  Mar- 
get's  sweet,  spiritual  face. 

"  Is  it  no'  the  picture  of  His  Luve,  who  thocht 
o'  everybody  but  Himsel',  an'  saved  everybody 
but  Himsel',  an'  didna  He  say  we  maun  drink 
His  cup  and  live  His  life  ? " 

Kate  only  signed  that  Marget  should  go  on. 

"  Noo  a'm  judgin'  that  ilka  ane  o's  is  savit 
juist  as  we  are  baptised  intae  the  Lord's  death, 
and  ilka  time  ane  o's  keeps  back  a  hot  word, 
or  humbles  a  proud  heart,  or  serves  anither  at 
a  cost,  we  have  eaten  the  Body  and  drunk  the 
Blood  o'  the  Lord."  Kate  Carnegie. 


July  i 

IS  not  every  man  conscious  of  a  strange  dual- 
ity, so  that  he  seems  two  men  ?  There  is 
the  self  who  is  proud,  envious,  jealous — a 
lower  self.  There  is  the  self  which  is  modest, 
generous,  ungrudging  —  a  higher  self.  Just 
as  the  lower  self  is  repressed  the  higher  lives  ; 
just  as  the  lower  is  pampered  the  higher  dies. 
We  are  conscious  of  this  conflict  and  desire  that 
the  evil  self  be  crushed,  mortified,  killed  ;  that 
the  better  self  be  liberated,  fed,  developed.  It 
goes  without  saying  that  the  victory  of  the  evil 
self  would  be  destruction,  that  the  victory  of 
the  better  self  would  be  salvation. 

The  Mind  ofiht  Master. 


July  2 

WHEN  a  minister  leads  his  people  in  the 
return  to  Christ,  it  is  well  for  him  to 
avoid  two  extremes.  He  must  neither  go  to 
the  Gospels  alone,  for  there  he  is  dealing  with 
an  earthly  Christ,  nor  to  the  heavens  alone,  for 
then  is  he  dealing  with  an  unknown  Christ,  but 
to  Him  Who  is  alive  for  evermore,  and  Whom 
we  have  in  the  Gospels.  Criticism  gives  us 
the  historical  Christ,  and  mysticism  gives  us 
the  spiritual  Christ,  and  both  united  give  us  the 
real  Christ.  The  Cure  of  Souls. 


July  3 

/"CRITICISM  has  rendered  two  great  ser- 
V_^  vices  to  the  working  ministry,  and  one  is 
apologetical.  Almost  all  the  moral  attacks 
upon  the  Bible,  which  may  have  been  cheap, 
but  which  were  very  embarrassing,  fall  to  the 
ground  as  soon  as  the  Bible  is  seen  to  be  a  pro- 
gressive and  gradual  revelation. 

Criticism  has  also  handed  the  Bible  to  the 
working  minister  re-arranged,  re-edited,  re- 
bound, and  so  in  this  way  made  it  for  his  pur- 
pose a  more  intelligible  and  interesting  book. 

The  Cure  of  Souls. 


July  4 

AS  each  nation  suffers,  it  prospers  ;  as  it 
ceases  to  suffer,  it  decays.  Our  Eng- 
land was  begotten  in  the  sore  travail  of  Eliza- 
beth's day.  The  American  nation  sprang 
from  the  sons  of  martyrs.  United  Germany 
was  baptised  in  blood.  The  pioneers  of  science 
have  lived  hardly.  The  most  original  philoso- 
pher of  modern  times  ground  glasses  for  a  liv- 
ing, and  was  the  victim  of  incurable  disease. 
The  master  poem  of  English  speech  was  written 
by  a  blind  and  forsaken  Puritan.  The  New 
World  was  found  in  spite  of  a  hostile  court  and 
treacherous  friends.  The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


_  July  5  _ 

OUR  average  man  must  not  claim  the  privi- 
lege of  vagrant  genius;  he  must  wrestle 
and  sweat,  placing,  reviewing,  transposing,  till 
the  way  stands  fair  and  open  from  Alpha  to 
Omega  —  a  clean,  straight  furrow  from  end  to 
end  of  the  field,  a  chain  of  single  links  which 
when  put  to  the  test  holds.  yvk  Cure  of  Souls. 


July  6 

THIS  was  what  rose  before  his  eyes,  in  that 
empty  place.  Within  the  drawers  were 
kept  the  Sabbath  clothes,  and  in  this  room  a  lad- 
die was  dressed  for  kirk,  after  a  searching  and 
remorseless  scrubbing  in  the  "  but,"  and  here  he 
must  sit  motionless  till  it  was  time  to  start,  while 
Mary,  giving  last  touches  to  the  fire  and  herself, 
maintained  a  running  exhortation,  "  Gin  ye  brak 
that  collar  or  rumple  yir  hair,  peety  ye;  the  '11 
be  nae  peppermint-drap  for  you  in  the  sermon 
the  day."  Here  also  an  old  woman  whose 
hands  were  hard  with  work  opened  a  secret 
place  in  those  drawers,  and  gave  a  young  man 
whose  hands  were  white  her  last  penny. 

"  Ye  '11  be  carefu',  Chairlie,  an'  a  '11  try  tae 
send  ye  something  till  ye  can  dae  for  yersel'  ;  an', 
laddie,  dinna  forget  ...  yir  Bible  nor  yir  hame, 
for  we  expect  ye  tae  be  a  credit  tae's  a'." 

Have  mercy,  O  God  ! 

The  Days  of  A  uld  Lang  Syne. 


July  7 

\\7  ERE  earnest  men  rebelling  against  ancient 
VV  dogmas  because  they  were  an  integral 
part  of  Jesus'  teaching,  this  would  be  a  very  seri- 
ous matter.  This  would  be  nothing  short  of  a 
deliberate  attack  on  Jesus.  If  they  be  only  en- 
deavouring to  correct  the  results  of  theological 
science  by  the  actual  teaching  of  Jesus,  then 
surely  nothing  could  be  more  hopeful.  This 
must  issue  in  the  revival  of  Christianity. 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 
* 

JulyS 

«'"\7E  think  that  a 'm  asking  a  great  thing 
JL  when  I  plead  for  a  pickle  notes  to  give  a 
puir  laddie  a  college  education.  I  tell  ye,  man, 
a'm  honourin'  ye  and  givin'  ye  the  fairest  chance 
ye  '11  ever  hae  o'  winning  wealth.  Gin  ye  store 
the  money  ye  hae  scrapit  by  mony  a  hard  bar- 
gain, some  heir  ye  never  saw  'ill  gar  it  flee  in 
chambering  and  wantonness.  Gin  ye  hed  the 
heart  to  spend  it  on  a  lad  o'  pairts  like  Geordie 
Hoo,  ye  wud  hae  twa  rewards  nae  man  could 
tak  frae  ye.  Ane  wud  be  the  honest  gratitude 
o'  a  laddie  whose  desire  for  knowledge  ye  hed 
sateesfied,  and  the  second  wud  be  this — anither 
scholar  in  the  land ;  and  a  'm  thinking  with  auld 
John  Knox  that  ilka  scholar  is  something  added 
to  the  riches  of  the  commonwealth." 

Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier  Busk. 


July  9 

WHAT  the  ideal  pastor  sees  in  every  mem- 
ber of  his  congregation  is  not  some  one 
that  will  be  of  use  to  him  because  he  is  such  a 
good  worker,  but  a  soul  that  is  given  him  for 
twenty  years  by  Christ,  and  whom  he  must 
prepare  for  everlasting  life.  The  Cure  of  Smth. 


July  10 

WHEN  Jesus'  idea  of  Faith  is  accepted,  then 
its  province  in  human  life  will  be  finally 
delimitated,  and  various  frontier  wars  brought 
to  an  end.  Painters  will  still  give  us  charming 
pictures  of  Faith  and  Reason,  but  they  will  no 
longer  represent  Reason  as  a  mailed  knight  pick- 
ing his  way  from  stone  to  stone,  while  Faith  as 
a  winged  angel  floats  by  his  side.  Faith  and 
Reason  will  be  neighbouring  powers,  each  abso- 
lute in  its  own  region.  It  is  the  part  of  Reason 
to  verify  intellectual  conceptions  and  apply  in- 
tellectual principles,  and  Faith  must  not  disturb 
this  work.  It  is  the  part  of  Faith  to  gather  those 
hopes  and  feelings  which  lie  outside  the  intellect, 
and  Faith  must  not  be  hampered  by  Reason. 
When  the  knight  comes  to  the  edge  of  the  cliff, 
he  can  go  no  farther ;  then  Faith,  like  Angelico'  s 
San  Michele,  opens  his  strong  wings  and  passes 
out  in  the  lonely  quest  for  God. 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


July  ii 


HT'AK.E  one  sin  that  happens  to  be  mine  and 
-L  other  men's,  and  let  the  preacher  confine 
himself,  say,  to  pride,  and  it  will  be  strange  if 
he  does  not  arrest  and  ashame  me,  but  let  him 
throw  in  a  dozen  other  sins  and  I  shall  be  un- 
moved. My  medicine  is  held  in  too  large  a 
solution.  A  sermon  ought  to  be  a  monograph 
and  not  an  encyclopaedia,  an  agency  for  pushing 
one  article,  not  a  general  store  where  one  can 
purchase  anything  from  a  button  to  a  coffin. 

The  Cure  of  Souls. 


July  12 

DOCTOR  DAVIDSON  prayed: 
"Heavenly  Father,  who  only  art  the 
source  of  love  and  the  giver  of  every  good  gift, 
we  thank  Thee  for  the  love  wherewith  the  soul 
of  Thy  servant  clave  unto  this  woman  as  Jacob 
unto  Rachel,  which  many  years  have  not 
quenched.  Remember  the  faithfulness  of  this 
true  heart,  and  disappoint  not  its  expectation. 
May  the  tryst  that  was  broken  on  earth  be  kept 
in  heaven,  and  be  pleased  to  give  Thy  .  .  . 
give  Jamie  a  good  home-coming.  Amen." 

"Thank  ye,  doctor;  ye'vesaid  whatl  wantit, 
an*  ...  it  wes  kind  o'  ye  tae  pit  in  « Jamie,'  *' 
and  his  hand  came  out  from  the  bed  for  a  last 
grasp.  The  Days  of  Auld  Lang-  Syne. 


July  13 

T)  HILOSOPHY  has  been,  for  the  most  part, 
JL  distinguished  by  its  strenuous  treatment  of 
the  moral  problem,  but  has  been  visibly  ham- 
pered by  circumstances,  being  in  the  position  of 
a  Court  which  cannot  go  into  the  whole  case. 
Sin  may  be  only  a  defect,  then  philosophy  can 
cope  with  the  position ;  but  it  is  at  least  possible 
that  sin  may  be  a  collision  with  the  will  of  God, 
then  philosophy  can  afford  no  help.  Spiritual 
affairs  are  beyond  its  jurisdiction;  they  belong 
to  the  department  of  Religion.  Within  the 
range  of  philosophy  the  Race  has  not  gone  as- 
tray— it  has  simply  not  arrived  :  humanity  is  not 
diseased  —  it  is  only  poorly  developed. 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 

IF 
July  14 

WHEN  Jesus  proposes  to  sum  up  the  whole 
duty  of  man  in  Love,  one  is  instantly 
charmed  with  the  sentiment,  and  understands 
how  it  made  the  arid  legalism  of  the  scribes  to 
blossom  like  the  rose.  How  can  one  conquer 
sin  ?  How  can  one  come  to  perfection  ?  How 
can  one  have  fellowship  with  God  ?  How  can 
one  save  the  world  ?  And  to  a  hundred  ques- 
tions of  this  kind  Jesus  has  one  answer  :  "Love 
the  man  next  you."  It  is  the  poetry  of  ideal- 
ism ;  it  is  quite  beyond  criticism  as  a  counsel  of 
perfection.  T^  Min<i  Ofthe  Master. 


July  15 

WHEN  the  doctor  placed  the  precious  bag 
beside  Sir  George  in  our  solitary  first 
next  morning,  he  laid  a  cheque  beside  it  and 
was  about  to  leave. 

"  No,  no,"  said  the  great  man.  "  Mrs. 
Macfadyen  and  I  were  on  the  gossip  last  night, 
and  I  know  the  whole  story  about  you  and 
your  friend. 

"  You  have  some  right  to  call  me  a  coward, 
but  I  '11  never  let  you  count  me  a  mean,  miserly 
rascal,"  and  the  cheque  with  Drumsheugh's 
painful  writing  fell  in  fifty  pieces  on  the  floor. 

As  the  train  began  to  move,  a  voice  from 
the  first  called  so  that  all  in  the  station  heard. 

*'  Give  's  another  shake  of  your  hand,  Mac- 
Lure;  I  'm  proud  to  have  met  you;  you  are  an 
honour  to  our  profession.  Mind  the  antiseptic 
dressings. ' '  The  Days  ofA-uld Lang  Syne. 

* 

July  1 6 

AH,  the  kindly  jests  that  have  not  come  off 
in  life,  the  gracious  deeds  that  never  were 
done,  the  reparations  that  were  too  late! 

Kate  Carnegie. 

'T^HERE  was  a  day  when  the  preacher  could 
J.  break  out  in  terrifying  language  on  his 
hearers  for  sleeping,  inattention,  and  such  like 
faults.  People  are  too  intelligent  and  well-bred 
now  to  commit  such  breaches  of  good  taste: 
they  sleep  at  home.  The  Cure  of  Souls. 


July  17 

AS  the  light  of  the  sun  colours  the  tiniest 
blade  of  grass,  so  the  idea  in  the  back- 
ground of  the  mind  tinges  every  detail  of  life. 
We  grant  that  a  man's  theology  will  be  built  on 
his  belief,  and  will  follow  its  lines  to  the  high- 
est pinnacle.  This  is  a  grudging  concession,  a 
limited  analysis.  The  whole  energy  of  a  human 
life,  however  it  may  have  been  fed  on  the  way, 
and  whatever  common  wheels  it  may  turn, 
arises  from  the  spring  among  the  hills.  Belief 
gives  the  trend  to  politics,  constitutes  the  rule 
of  business,  composes  the  atmosphere  of  home, 
and  creates  the  horizon  of  the  soul.  It  becomes 
the  sovereign  arbiter  of  our  destinies,  for  char- 
acter itself  is  the  precipitate  of  belief. 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


July  1 8 


"  \/E  asked  me  : 
1        "«. 


1  Am  I  a  guid  mother  tae  ye  ?  *  and 
when  I  could  dae  naethin'  but  hold,  ye  said, 
*  Be  sure  God  maun  be  a  hantle  kinder.* 

"  The  truth  came  to  me  as  with  a  flicker,  and 
I  cuddled  down  into  my  bed,  and  fell  asleep  in 
His  love  as  in  my  mother's  arms. 

"  Mither,"  and  George  lifted  up  his  head, 
"  that  was  my  conversion,  and,  mither  dear,  I 
hae  longed  a'  thro'  thae  college  studies  for  the 
day  when  ma  mooth  wud  be  opened  wi'  this 
evangel."  Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier  Busk. 


19 


"\7E'RE  tae  hae  the  Doctor  at  laist," 
A  Mains  said  to  Netherton  —  letting  the 
luck-penny  on  a  transaction  in  seed-corn  stand 
over  —  "an'  a'm  jidgin'  the  time's  no'  been 
lost.  He  's  plainer  an'  easier  tae  follow  then 
he  wes  at  the  aftgo.  Ma  word  "  —  contemplat- 
ing the  exercise  before  the  Glen  —  "  but  ye  '11 
aye  get  eneuch  here  and  there  tae  cairry  hame." 
—  Which  shows  what  a  man  the  Rabbi  was, 
that  on  the  strength  of  his  possession  a  parish 
like  Kilbogie  could  speak  after  this  fashion  to 
Drumtochty. 

*'  He  '11  hae  a  fair  trial,  Mains  "  —  Nether- 
ton's  tone  was  distinctly  severe  —  "an'  mony  a 
trial  he  's  hed  in  his  day,  they  say  :  wes  't  three- 
an'  -twenty  kirks  he  preached  in  afore  ye  took 
him  ?  But  mind  ye,  length  *s  nae  standard  in 
Drumtochty;  na,  na,  it's  no'  hoo  muckle  wind 
a  man  hes,  but  what  like  is  the  stuff  that  comes. 
It  's  bushels  doon  bye,  but  it  's  wecht  up  bye." 

Kate  Carnegie. 

# 

July  20 

r~T'HE  Bible  as  it  comes  from  the  critics  is 
JL  more  real,  because  it  is  more  human  ;  not 
a  book  dropped  down  from  heaven,  untouched 
with  a  feeling  of  our  infirmities,  but  a  book 
wrought  out  through  the  struggles,  hopes,  trials, 
victories  of  the  soul  of  man  in  his  quest  after 
God.  The  Cure  of  Souls. 


July  21 

IN  various  places  and  on  many  occasions  does 
Jesus  pledge  us  to  meet  Him  in  this  life  — 
at  the  Cross,  in  the  Sacrament,  in  the  crises  of 
joy  and  sorrow  — -and  now  once  again  He 
appoints  us  a  meeting-place.  It  is  the  Valley  of 
the  Shadow,  where,  in  the  quietness  and  seclu- 
sion as  in  a  lover's  glade,  He  will  expect  us  one 
day.  Is  there  any  spot  on  earth  so  common  or 
so  wild  that  it  has  not  been  transformed  by 
love  ?  Are  there  any  places  in  our  thought  so 
beautiful  as  those  where  we  kept  tryst  with  those 
that  were  dearer  than  life  ?  So  Jesus,  who  hath 
such  power  of  regeneration  that  He  changed 
the  accursed  tree  into  the  Cross,  and  made 
chief  sinners  into  saints,  hath  put  a  fair  face  on 
death  so  that  it  becometh  but  His  dark  disguise 
as  He  returneth  to  receive  us  home. 

^  The  Upper  Room. 

July  22 

T  ESUS  wrote  nothing,  He  said  little,  but  He 
J  did  what  He  said  and  made  others  do  as 
He  commanded.  His  religion  began  at  once  to 
exist ;  from  the  beginning  it  was  a  life.  It  is  the 
distinction  of  Christianity  that  it  goes.  This  is 
why  some  of  us,  in  spite  of  every  intellectual 
difficulty,  must  believe  Jesus  to  be  the  Son  of 
God  —  He  has  done  what  no  other  ever  did,  and 
what  only  God  could  do.  He  is  God  because 
He  discharges  a  "  God-function." 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


July  23 

NEW  thought  is  almost  sure  to  be  crude 
and  yeasty,  and  therefore  wise  and  char- 
itable deliverances  can  hardly  be  expected  of 
young  preachers,  because  their  thought  has  not 
yet  had  time  to  ripen.  It  is  enough  if  it  be 
strong  and  rich  ;  fineness  and  fragrance  will 
come  with  age.  The  Cttre 


July  24 

LITERATURE  oscillates  between  extremes, 
and  affords  an  instructive  contradiction. 
As  the  record  of  human  experience  it  must 
chronicle  sin  ;  as  the  solace  of  the  individual, 
it  makes  a  brave  effort  to  ignore  sin.  You 
hear  the  moan  of  this  calamity  through  all  the 
work  of  Sophocles,  but  Aristophane"  persuades 
you  that  this  is  the  gayest  of  worlds,  and  both 
voices  were  heard  in  the  same  theatre  beneath 
the  shadow  of  enthroned  Wisdom.  Juvenal's 
mordant  satire  lays  bare  the  ulcerous  Roman 
life,  but  Catullus  flings  a  wreath  of  roses  over 
it,  and  they  were  both  poets  of  the  classical 
age.  A  French  novelist,  with  an  unholy  mas- 
tery of  his  craft,  steeps  us  in  the  horrors  of  a 
decadent  society.  A  French  critic,  with  the 
airiest  grace,  exclaims:  "  Sin,  I  have  abolished 
it- "  The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


July  25 

r  I  ^EXTS  I  can  never  remember,  nor,  for  that 
J.  matter,  the  words  of  sermons;  but  the 
subject  was  Jesus  Christ,  and  before  he  had 
spoken  five  minutes  I  was  convinced,  who  am 
outside  dogmas  and  churches,  that  Christ  was 
present.  The  preacher  faded  from  before  one's 
eyes,  and  there  rose  the  figure  of  the  Nazarene, 
best  lover  of  every  human  soul,  with  a  face  of 
tender  patience  such  as  Sarto  gave  the  Master 
in  the  Church  of  the  Annunziata,  and  stretch- 
ing out  His  hands  to  old  folk  and  little  children 
as  He  did,  before  His  death,  in  Galilee.  His 
voice  might  be  heard  any  moment,  as  I  have 
imagined  it  in  my  lonely  hours  by  the  winter 
fire  or  on  the  solitary  hills  —  soft,  low,  and 
sweet,  penetrating  like  music  to  the  secret  of 
the  heart,  "  Come  unto  Me  .  .  .  and  I  will 
give  you  rest.  * '  Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier  Bush. 

> 

July  26 

NO  one  can  ignore  this  constant  and  radiant 
sense  of  the  Divine  Fatherhood  in  the 
life  of  Jesus.      It  must  be  a  suggestive  fact  to 
an  unbeliever,  for  it  will  be  admitted  on  every 
hand  that  Jesus  knew  more  about  Religion  than 
any  man  that  has  ever  lived.      It  ought  to  be  an 
absolute  conclusion  to  a  believer,  since  he  holds 
that  Jesus  is  Himself  Very  God  of  Very  God. 
TJie  Mind  of  the  Master. 


July  27 

"'    A  '  KEN  a'm  deein','  a'  said,  'an'  a'm 
ZX    no'  feared,   but    a'    canna   thole  the 
thocht  o'  slippin'  awa  in  an  hospital  $  it  wud  hae 
been  different  at  hame.' 

"  «  Ye  '11  no'  want  a  hame  here,  Lily' :  it  wes 
braid  Scotch  noo,  an'  it  never  soonded  sae 
sweet ;  an',  Jamie  "  —  here  the  whisper  was  so 
low,  Jamie  had  to  bend  his  head  —  "a'  saw  the 
tears  in  his  een." 

' '  Rest  a  wee,  Lily  ;  a  'm  folio  win'.  Sae  he 
took  ye  tae  his  ain  hoose  an'  pit  ye  in  the  best 
room,  an'  they  've  waitit  on  ye  as  if  ye  were  his 
ain  dochter.  ...  Ye  dinna  need  tae  speak  ; 
a'  wudna  say  but  Sir  Andra  micht  be  a  Chris- 
tian o'  the  auld  kind  —  a'  mean,  *  I  was  a 
stranger,  and  ye  took  Me  in.'  " 

The  Days  of  Auld  Lang  Syne. 
* 

July  28 

ONE  reason  why  many  masterly  sermons  fail 
is  that  they  have  never  had  the  benefit  of 
this  process  ;  therefore  they  are  clear,  interest- 
ing, eloquent,  but  helpless.  They  do  not  make 
way,  and  lay  hold  of  hearers,  because  they  have 
never  conquered  the  speaker.  He  has  not  been 
horrified  at  this  sin,  has  not  felt  this  trial,  has 
not  seen  this  Christ  during  the  week  through 
the  sympathy  of  the  soul.  The  Cure  0fSouh, 


July  29 

HOW  was  the  kingdom  to  impress  itself 
upon  the  world  and  change  the  colour 
of  human  life  ?  As  Jesus  did  Himself,  and  after 
no  other  fashion.  Of  all  conquerors  He  has 
had  the  highest  ambition,  and  above  them  all 
He  has  seen  His  desire.  He  has  dared  to  de- 
mand men's  hearts  as  well  as  their  lives  and  has 
won  them  —  how  ?  By  coercion  ?  by  strata- 
gem ?  by  cleverness  ?  by  splendour  ?  By  none 
of  those  means  that  have  been  used  by  rulers, 
—  by  the  Cross.  The  Cross  meant  the  last  de- 
votion to  humanity  ;  it  was  the  pledge  of  the 
most  uncomplaining  and  effectual  ministry. 
When  you  inquire  the  resources  of  the  Kingdom 
of  Heaven,  behold  the  Cross.  They  are  faith 
and  love.  Its  soldiers  are  the  humble,  the  meek, 
the  gentle,  the  peaceful.  The  Mind  Ofthe  Master. 
* 

July  30 

IT  was  a  low-roofed  room,  with  a  box  bed 
and  some  pieces  of  humble  furniture,  fit  only 
for  a  labouring  man.  But  the  choice  treasures 
of  Greece  and  Rome  lay  on  the  table,  and  on  a 
shelf  beside  the  bed  College  prizes  and  medals, 
while  everywhere  were  the  roses  he  loved.  His 
peasant  mother  stood  beside  the  body  of  her 
scholar  son,  whose  hopes  and  thoughts  she  had 
shared,  and  through  the  window  came  the  bleat- 
ing of  distant  sheep.  It  was  the  idyll  of  Scottish 
University  life.  Beside  the  Bonnie  Britr  Bush. 


July  3 1 

NO  one  sent  for  MacLure  save  in  great 
straits,  and  the  sight  of  him  put  courage 
in  sinking  hearts.  But  this  was  not  by  the  grace 
of  his  appearance,  or  the  advantage  of  a  good 
bedside  manner.  A  tall,  gaunt,  loosely  made 
man,  without  an  ounce  of  superfluous  flesh  on 
his  body,  his  face  burned  a  dark  brick  colour 
by  constant  exposure  to  the  weather,  red  hair 
and  beard  turning  grey,  honest  blue  eyes  that 
looked  you  ever  in  the  face,  huge  hands  with 
wrist  bones  like  the  shank  of  a  ham,  and  a  voice 
that  hurled  his  salutations  across  two  fields,  he 
suggested  the  moor  rather  than  the  drawing- 
room.  But  what  a  clever  hand  it  was  in  an 
operation,  as  delicate  as  a  woman's,  and  what 
a  kindly  voice  it  was  in  the  humble  room  where 
the  shepherd's  wife  was  weeping  by  her  man's 
bedside.  Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier  Bush. 


August 


A    DISPLENISHING    SALE 

TARUMTOCHTY,  hoeing  the  turnips  for 
jLJ  the  second  time  on  a  glorious  day  in 
early  August,  saw  the  Kildrummie  auctioneer 
go  up  the  left  side  of  the  Glen  and  down  the 
right  like  one  charged  with  high  affairs.  It  was 
understood  that  Jock  Constable  could  ride  any- 
thing in  the  shape  of  a  horse,  and  that  after- 
noon he  had  got  ten  miles  an  hour  out  of  an 
animal  which  had  been  down  times  without 
number,  and  whose  roaring  could  be  heard 
from  afar.  Jock  was  in  such  haste  that  he 
only  smacked  his  lips  as  he  passed  our  public- 
house,  and  waved  his  hand  when  Hillocks 
shouted,  "  Hoo's  a1  wi'  ye?"  from  a  neigh- 
bouring field.  But  he  dismounted  whenever 
he  saw  a  shapely  gate-post,  and  spent  five  min- 
utes at  the  outer  precincts  of  the  two  churches. 
The  Days  of  Auld  Lang  Syne. 


August  i 

'"INHERE  are  churches  which  depreciate  the 
-L  service,  and  churches  which  depreciate  the 
sermon,  and  both  err,  because  sermon  and  ser- 
vice are  not  rivals  but  auxiliaries,  the  service 
spiritualising  and  softening  the  heart  for  the  mes- 
sage of  God,  and  the  Evangel  being  the  answer 
to  the  praise  and  prayer.  rhe  Cvre  0/Stntls. 

* 

August  2 

nPOWNSPEOPLE  are  so  clever,  and  know 
-L  so  much,  that  it  is  only  just  something 
should  be  hidden  from  their  sight,  and  it  is  quite 
certain  that  they  do  not  understand  the  irresisti- 
ble and  endless  fascination  of  the  country.  They 
love  to  visit  us  in  early  autumn,  and  are  vastly 
charmed  with  the  honeysuckle  in  the  hedges, 
and  the  corn  turning  yellow,  and  the  rivers  sing- 
ing in  the  sunlight,  and  the  purple  on  the  hill- 
side. It  is  then  that  the  dweller  in  cities  resolves 
to  retire,  as  soon  as  may  be,  from  dust  and 
crowds  and  turmoil  and  hurry,  to  some  cottage 
where  the  scent  of  roses  comes  in  at  the  open 
window,  and  one  is  wakened  of  a  morning  by 
the  birds  singing  in  the  ivy.  When  the  corn  is 
gathered  into  the  stack-yard,  and  the  leaves  fall 
on  the  road,  and  the  air  has  a  touch  of  frost,  and 
the  evenings  draw  in,  then  the  townsman  begins 
to  shiver  and  bethink  him  of  his  home. 

Kate  Carnegie. 


August  3 

JEWISH  piety  has  laid  the  world  under  a 
hopeless  debt  by  imagining  the  austere  holi- 
ness of  God,  and  has  doubled  the  obligation  by 
adding  His  tenderness.  It  was  an  achievement 
to  carve  the  white  marble ;  a  greater  to  make  it 
live  and  glow.  The  saints  of  Israel  touched 
their  highest  when  they  infused  the  idea  of  the 
Divine  spirituality  with  passion,  and  brought  it 
to  pass  that  the  Holy  One  of  Israel  is  the  kind- 
est deity  that  has  ever  entered  the  heart  of  man. 
There  was  no  human  emotion  they  did  not  as- 
sign to  God ;  no  relationship  they  did  not  use  as 
the  illustration  of  His  love  ;  no  appeal  of  affec- 
tion they  did  not  place  in  His  lips ;  no  sorrow 
of  which  they  did  not  make  Him  partaker. 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 
* 

August  4 

MARGET  lifted  Plato,  and  it  seemed  to 
me  that  day  as  if  the  dignity  of  our 
Lady  of  Sorrows  had  fallen  upon  her. 

"  This  is  the  buik  George  chose  for  you, 
Maister  Maclean,  for  he  aye  said  to  me  ye  hed 
been  a  prophet  and  shown  him  mony  deep 
things." 

The  tears  sprang  to  the  Celt's  eyes. 

"  It  wass  like  him  to  make  all  other  men  bet- 
ter than  himself,"  with  the  soft,  sad  Highland 
accent  5  "  and  a  proud  woman  you  are  to  hef 

been  his  mother."          Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier  Bush. 


August  5 

ONE  has  heard  able  and  pious  sermons  which 
might  as  well  have  been  preached  in  Mars, 
for  any  relation  they  had  to  our  life  and  environ- 
ment. They  suggested  the  address  a  disem- 
bodied spirit  might  give  to  his  brethren  in  the 
intermediate  state,  where  it  is  alleged  we  shall 
exist  without  physical  correspondence.  This 
detached  sermon  is  the  only  credible  evidence 
for  such  an  unimaginable  state,  but  otherwise  it 
does  not  appear  effective.  The  Cure  of  Souls. 


August  6 

JESUS  has  changed  ethics  from  a  crystal  that 
can  only  grow  by  accretion  into  a  living 
plant  that  flowers  in  its  season.  He  exposed  the 
negative  principle  of  morals  in  His  empty  house 
swept  and  garnished  ;  He  vindicated  the  positive 
principle  in  His  house  held  by  a  strong  man 
armed.  The  individualism  of  selfishness  is  the 
disintegrating  force  which  has  cursed  this  world, 
segregating  the  individual  and  rending  society  to 
pieces.  The  altruism  of  Love  is  the  consolidat- 
ing force  which  will  save  the  world,  reconciling 
every  man  to  his  fellows  and  recreating  society. 
When  Jesus  makes  Love  the  basis  of  social  life, 
He  does  not  need  to  condescend  to  details  $  He 
has  established  unity.  The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


August  7 

IF  God  give  us  success,  then  to  the  feet  of 
Jesus  let  our  sheaves  be  carried  ;  if  it  be  His 
will  we  should  fail,  to  the  same  dear  Lord  let  us 
flee,  Who  knows  what  it  is  to  see  His  life  fall 
into  the  ground  and  disappear.  From  His  life 
let  us  learn  to  preach ;  from  His  example  let 
us  learn  to  serve  ;  in  His  communion  let  us  find 
our  strength,  comfort,  peace,  Whom  not  hav- 
ing seen  we  love,  to  Whom  we  shall  one  day 
render  our  account.  The  Cure  0fSauls. 


August  8 

HPHE  Doctor  gave  the  cup  to  the  General, 
JL  who  passed  it  to  Kate,  and  from  her  it 
went  to  Weelum  MacLure,  and  another  cup  he 
gave  to  Hay,  whom  he  had  known  from  a  child, 
and  he  handed  it  to  Marget  Howe,  and  she  to 
Whinnie,  her  man  ;  and  so  the  two  cups  passed 
down  from  husband  to  wife,  from  wife  to  daugh- 
ter, from  daughter  to  servant,  from  lord  to  ten- 
ant, till  all  had  shown  forth  the  Lord's  death 
in  common  fellowship  and  love  as  becometh 
Christian  folk.  In  the  solemn  silence  the  sun- 
shine fell  on  the  faces  of  the  communicants,  and 
the  singing  of  the  birds  came  in  through  the 
open  door  with  the  scent  of  flowers  and  ripe 
corn-  Kate  Carnegie. 


August  9 

IT  follows  upon  Jesus'  suggestion  of  the  next 
life, — the  continuation  of  the  present  on  a 
higher  level,  —  that  it  will  be  itself  a  continual 
progress,  and  Jesus  gives  us  frequent  hints  of  this 
law.  When  He  referred  to  the  many  mansions 
in  His  Father's  house,  He  may  have  been  in- 
tending rooms  —  places  where  those  who  had 
been  associated  together  on  earth  may  be  gath- 
ered together;  but  He  may  be  rather  intending 
stations  —  stages  in  that  long  ascent  of  life  that 
shall  extend  through  the  ages  of  ages. 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 
> 

August  10 

SO  they  sat  down  together  beside  the  brier 
bush,  and  after  one  glance  at  Marget's  face 
the  minister  opened  his  heart,  and  told  her  the 
great  controversy  with  Lachlan. 

Marget  lifted  her  head  as  one  who  had  heard 
of  some  brave  deed,  and  there  was  a  ring  in 
her  voice. 

"It  maks  me  prood  before  God  that  there 
are  twa  men  in  Drumtochty  who  follow  their 
conscience  as  king,  and  coont  truth  dearer  than 
their  ain  freends.  It 's  peetifu'  when  God's 
bairns  fecht  through  greed  and  envy,  but  it's 
hertsome  when  they  are  wullin'  tae  wrestle  aboot 
the  Evangel,  for  surely  the  end  o'  it  a'  maun 
be  peace."  Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier  Bush. 


August  1 1 

WHAT  we  have  chiefly  to  learn  for  the 
work  of  the  Holy  Ministry,  in  our  day, 
is  not  how  to  criticise,  nor  how  to  read,  nor 
how  to  speak,  nor  how  to  organise,  but  how  to 
meditate,  in  order  that  present-day  sermons  may 
add  to  their  brightness  and  interest  the  greater 
qualities  of  the  past,  depth  of  experience,  and 
an  atmosphere  of  peace.  The  Cure  of  Souls. 

* 

August  12 

O  UDDENLY  they  came  out  from  the  shade 
v.3  into  a  narrow  lane  of  light,  where  some  one 
of  the  former  time,  with  an  eye  and  a  soul,  had 
cleared  a  passage  among  the  trees,  so  that  one 
standing  at  the  inner  end  and  looking  outwards 
could  see  the  whole  Glen,  while  the  outstretched 
branches  of  the  beeches  shaded  his  eyes.  Morn- 
ing in  the  summer-time  about  five  o'clock  was 
a  favourable  hour,  because  one  might  see  the  last 
mists  lift  and  the  sun  light  up  the  face  of  Ben 
Urtach  ;  and  evening-tide  was  better,  because 
the  Glen  showed  wonderfully  tender  in  the  soft 
light,  and  the  Grampians  were  covered  with 
glory.  But  it  was  best  to  take  your  first  view  to- 
wards noon,  for  then  you  could  trace  the  Tochty 
upwards  as  it  appeared  and  reappeared,  till  it 
was  lost  in  woods  at  the  foot  of  Glen  Urtach, 
with  every  spot  of  interest  on  either  side. 

Kate  Carnegie. 


August  13 

"  T  TIS  hert  wes  juist  ower  big,  that  wes  the 
J.  JL    maitter  wi'  Jamie,  an'  he  hoddit  [hid] 
his  feelings  for  fear  o'  makin'  a  fule  o'  himsel' 
afore  the  pairish. 

"  Sail,  he  wesna  verra  parteeklar  what  he  said 
gin  ye  hed  him  in  a  corner.  He  nursit  the  bit 
lassie  that  lived  wi'  Mary  Robertson  for  a  hale 
day  when  she  wes  deein'  o'  dipthery,  an'  threipit 
tae  me  that  he  hed  juist  gien  a  cry  in  passin'  ;  an' 
when  Lily  Grant  dee'd  in  London,  he  gied  oot 
that  her  mistress  hed  paid  for  bringin'  the  corpse 
tae  Drumtochty  kirkyaird.  He  cud  lee  near  as 
weel  as  Milton,  but  it  wes  aye  tae  cover  his  ain 
gudeness. 

"  A'  coontit  Weelum  MacLure  an'  Jamie 
Soutarthe  warmest  herts  in  the  Glen,  an'  Jamie 's 
never  been  the  same  sin'  ...  we  lost  Weelum. 
The  kirkyaird 's  no'  worth  comin'  tae  noo  that 
Jamie 's  awa."  7-^  Days  of 'Auld  Lang  Syne. 

# 

August  14 

ONE  may  also  view  with  apprehension  the 
habit  of  popularising  theology  to  the  point 
of  vulgarity,  and  wince  when  the  resurrection 
of  our  Lord  is  discussed  in  drawing-rooms,  and 
the  miraculous  decided  between  the  soup  and  the 
fish.  This  is  from  the  cloister  to  the  market- 
place with  a  vengeance,  and  thoughtful  people 
must  have  anxieties.  The  Cure  of  Souk. 


August  15 

MOMENTS  there  are  when  the  sailors  of 
the  deep  envy  those  that  sail  in  the 
smooth  sheltered  waters  because  they  have  not 
been  driven  to  and  fro  on  stormy  seas  and  been 
in  danger  of  the  jagged  rocks.  Other  moments, 
the  sons  of  tribulation  pity  those  unfortunates 
who  have  never  seen  the  great  billows  lie  down 
as  a  dog  chidden  by  his  master  and  God  turn 
the  storm  into  a  calm.  One  half  of  the  Bible  is 
a  closed  book  to  them  that  sit  at  ease,  because 
only  a  pierced  hand  can  open  the  pages. 

^  The  Upper  Room. 

August  1 6 

"  1\/I  Y  DEAR  LASSIE>  —  Ye  ken  that  x 
IV JL  wes  aye  yir  freend,  and  I  am  writing 
this  tae  say  that  yir  father  luves  ye  mair  than 
ever,  and  is  wearing  oot  his  hert  for  the  sicht  o' 
yir  face.  Come  back,  or  he  Ml  dee  thro'  want 
o'  his  bairn.  The  glen  is  bright  and  bonny  noo, 
for  the  purple  heather  is  on  the  hills,  and  doon 
below  the  gowden  corn,  wi'  bluebell  and  poppy 
flowers  between.  Naebody  'ill  ask  ye  where 
ye  've  been,  or  onything  else  ;  there 's  no  a 
bairn  in  the  place  that 's  no  wearying  tae  see 
ye  ;  and,  Flora,  lassie,  if  there  will  be  sic  gled- 
ness  in  oor  wee  glen  when  ye  come  hame,  what 
think  ye  o'  the  joy  in  the  Father's  Hoose  ? 
Start  the  verra  meenit  that  ye  get  this  letter; 
yir  father  bids  ye  come,  and  I  'm  writing  this 
in  place  o'  yir  mother.  MARGET  HOWE." 

Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier  Busk. 


August  17 

HE  stands  before  his  people  now  in  the 
supreme  moment  of  his  life,  and  a  sense 
of  the  solemnity  of  his  duty  overcomes  him,  so 
that  they  see  him  hesitate  between  the  text  and 
the  sermon.  Let  them  pray  with  one  accord 
that  upon  this  frail  brother  man,  on  whom  God 
has  laid  such  a  work,  the  Holy  Ghost  may 
descend,  and  the  same  Spirit  make  tender  their 
hearts  within  them.  The  Curt  o/Souls. 


August  1 8 

"  A  'M  expeckin'  tae  hear  John's  on  the 
/X  mend  masel',"  said  David,  manfully, 
and  he  set  himself  to  fortify  his  wife  with 
Saanders's  case  and  the  doctor's  prayer,  till  she 
lifted  her  head  again  and  watched. 

A  summer  wind  passed  over  the  pines,  the 
wood-pigeons  cooed  above  their  heads,  rabbits 
ran  out  and  in  beside  them,  the  burn  below 
made  a  pleasant  sound,  and  a  sense  of  the 
Divine  Love  descended  on  their  hearts. 

"  The  Almichty,"  whispered  Meg,  "  'ill 
surely  no'  tak  awa  oor  only  bairn  .  .  .  an'  him 
dune  sae  weel  .  .  .  an'  sae  gude  a  son  .  .  . 
A'  wes  coontin'  on  him  comin'  hame  next 
year  .  .  .  an'  seein'  him  aince  mair  .  .  .  afore 
a'  dee'd."  The  Days  of Avid  Lang  Syne. 


August  19 

WHEN  one  passes  from  the  Gospels  to  the 
Psalms  he  is  struck  by  the  absence  of 
Father.  When  one  returns  he  is  struck  by  its 
presence.  The  Psalmist  never  said  the  word  ; 
Jesus  never  said  anything  else.  With  Jesus, 
God  and  Father  were  identical.  Fatherhood 
was  not  a  side  of  Deity  ;  it  was  the  centre. 
God  might  be  a  King  and  Judge  ;  He  was  first 
of  all,  and  last  of  all,  and  through  all,  Father. 
In  Fatherhood  every  other  relation  of  God  must 
be  harmonised  and  find  its  sphere.  Short  of 
His  Fatherhood  you  cannot  stop  in  the  ascent 
of  God.  Under  Fatherhood  is  gathered  every 
other  revelation.  rke  Mind  Oj-tke  Master. 

* 

August  20 

T)  ENEATH  the  honeysuckle  at  his  garden 
\-J    gate  a  woman  was  waiting. 

"  My  name  is  Marget  Howe,  and  I  'm  the 
wife  of  William  Howe  of  Whinnie  Knowe. 
My  only  son  wes  preparin'  for  the  ministry, 
but  God  wanted  him  nearly  a  year  syne.  When 
ye  preached  the  Evangel  o*  Jesus  the  day  I 
heard  his  voice,  and  I  loved  you.  Ye  hev  nae 
mither  on  earth,  I  hear,  and  I  hae  nae  son,  and 
I  wantit  tae  say  that  if  ye  ever  wish  tae  speak 
to  ony  woman  as  ye  wud  tae  yir  mither,  come 
tae  Whinnie  Knowe,  an'  I'll  coont  it  ane  of 
the  Lord's  consolations." 

Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier  Bush. 


August  21 

THEY  stood  in  silence  to  receive  the  bless- 
ing of  the  place ;  for  surely  never  is  the 
soul  so  open  to  the  voice  of  nature  as  by  the 
side  of  running  water  and  in  the  heart  of  a  wood. 
The  fretted  sunlight  made  shifting  figures  of 
brightness  on  the  ground  ;  above,  the  innumer- 
able leaves  rustled  and  whispered;  a  squirrel 
darted  a\ong  a  branch  and  watched  the  intru- 
ders with  bright,  curious  eyes  ;  the  rooks  cawed 
from  the  distance  ;  the  pigeons  cooed  in  sweet, 
sad  cadence  close  at  hand.  They  sat  down  on 
the  bare  roots  at  their  feet  and  yielded  them- 
selves to  the  genius  of  the  forest  —  the  god  who 
will  receive  the  heart  torn  and  distracted  by  the 
fierce  haste  and  unfinished  labours  and  vain  am- 
bitions of  life,  and  will  lay  its  fever  to  rest  and 
encompass  it  with  the  quietness  of  eternity. 

Kate  Carnegie. 
* 

AugUSt  22 

WHAT  is  wanted  above  everything  to-day 
is  positive  preaching,  by  men  who  be- 
lieve with  all  their  mind  and  heart  in  Jesus 
Christ.  If  a  man  has  any  doubt  about  Christ 
he  must  on  no  account  be  His  minister ;  and  if 
one  in  the  ministry  be  afflicted  from  time  to  time 
by  failures  of  faith,  let  him  consume  his  own 
smoke  and  keep  a  brave  face  in  the  pulpit. 

The  Cure  of  Souls. 


August  23 

WHEN  Jesus  judges  by  type,  our  Christ 
approximation,  or  our  Christ  aliena- 
tion, one  is  struck  by  His  absolute  fairness. 
We  are  estimated  not  by  what  we  have  done 
but  by  what  we  desire  to  be.  With  Jesus  the 
purpose  of  the  soul  is  as  the  soul's  achieve- 
ment, and  He  will  not  be  disappointed.  If  one 
surrender  himself  to  Jesus,  and  is  crucified  on 
His  cross,  there  is  no  sin  he  will  not  overcome, 
no  service  he  will  not  render,  no  virtue  to  which 
he  will  not  attain.  He  has  made  a  good  be- 
ginning, he  has  a  long  time.  If  one  refuse  the 
appeal  of  Jesus,  and  cling  to  his  lower  self,  there 
is  no  degradation  to  which  he  may  not  descend. 
He  has  made  a  bad  beginning,  and  he  also  has 
a  long  time.  Both  have  eternity. 

The  Mind  of  the  Master, 
* 

August  24 

WHEN    Jean   was     comforted    Burnbrae 
gathered  his  household  together  in  the 
kitchen,  and    he  chose  the   portion  from   the 
tenth  chapter  of  St.  Matthew' s  Gospel  — 

"  Whosoever  therefore  shall  confess  Me  be- 
fore men,  him  will  I  confess  also  before  My 
Father  which  is  in  heaven." 

As  Burnbrae  read  the  last  words  he  lifted  up 
his  head,  and  it  seemed  even  unto  the  serving- 
girls  as  if  he  had  received  a  crown. 

The  Days  of  A  uld  Lang  Syne. 


August  25 

"  T  T  wass  a  beautiful  night  in  London,  but 
JL  I  will  be  thinking  that  there  iss  no  living 
person  caring  whether  I  die  or  live,  and  I  wass 
considering  how  I  could  die,  for  there  is  noth- 
ing so  hopeless  as  to  hef  no  friend  in  a  great  city. 
It  iss  often  that  I  hef  been  alone  on  the  moor, 
and  no  man  within  miles,  but  I  wass  never 
lonely,  oh  no,  I  had  plenty  of  good  company. 
I  would  sit  down  beside  a  burn,  and  the  trout 
will  swim  out  from  below  a  stone,  and  the 
cattle  will  come  to  drink,  and-  the  muirfowl  will 
be  crying  to  each  other,  and  the  sheep  will  be 
bleating,  oh  yes,  and  there  are  the  bees  all 
round,  and  a  string  of  wild  ducks  above  your 
head.  It  iss  a  busy  place  a  moor,  and  a  safe 
place  too,  for  there  is  not  one  of  the  animals  will 
hurt  you.  No,  the  big  highlanders  will  only 
look  at  you  and  go  away  to  their  pasture." 

Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier  Bush. 


August  26 

UCIDITY  is  never  to  be  confounded  with 
J  —  /  simplicity:  the  former  is  a  quality  of 
style,  the  latter  of  thought,  and  it  sometimes 
happens  that  what  is  childish  in  idea  may  be 
unintelligible  in  expression,  while  what  is  pro- 
found in  idea  may  be  plain  to  a  child. 

The  Cure  of  Souls. 


August  27 

THERE  are  three  steps  in  the  Santa  Scala 
which  the  Race  is  slowly  and  painfully 
ascending;  barbarism  where  men  cultivate  the 
body,  civilisation  where  they  cultivate  the  in- 
tellect, holiness  where  they  cultivate  the  soul. 
There  is  for  the  whole  Race,  for  each  nation, 
for  every  individual,  the  age  of  Homer,  the  age 
of  Socrates,  the  age  of  Jesus.  Beyond  the  age 
of  Jesus  nothing  can  be  desired  or  imagined,  for 
it  runs  on  those  lofty  table-lands  where  the 
soul  lives  with  God.  The  Mind  of  the  Master. 

* 

August  28 

""IT  7 ELL,  Burnbrae,  I  never  thought  you 
VV  would  have  left  me  for  a  matter  of 
kirks.  Could  you  not  have  stretched  a  point 
for  auld  lang  syne  ?  "  and  Kilspindie  looked 
hard  at  the  old  man. 

"  Ma  Lord,  there's  naething  a'  wudna  hae 
dune  to  stay  in  Burnbrae  but  this  ae  thing.  Ye 
hae  been  a  gude  landlord  tae  me,  as  the  auld  Earl 
wes  tae  ma  father,  an1  it  'ill  never  be  the  same  tae 
me  again  on  anither  estate  ;  but  ye  maunna  ask 
me  tae  gang  back  on  ma  conscience."  The 
tears  came  to  Burnbrae' s  eyes,  and  he  rose  to 
his  feet.  "A'  thocht,"  he  said,  "when  yir 
message  cam,  that  maybe  ye  hed  anither  mind 
than  yir  factor,  and  wud  send  me  back  tae  Jean 
wi'  guid  news  in  ma  mooth." 

The  Days  of  Avid  Lang  Syne. 


August  29 


NE  can  hardly  imagine  a  greater  sin  against 
light  within  the  Church  than  any  indiffer- 
ence or  enmity  towards  theology,  or  a  more 
flagrant  outrage  against  the  idea  of  a  University 
than  the  omission  or  exclusion  of  one  science 
alone,  and  that  the  queen  of  all,  and  the  one 
in  which  all  others  cohere  and  are  crowned. 

The  Cure  of  Souls. 
* 

August  30 

JESUS  did  not  affect  such  humility,  nor  make 
such  admissions.  He  did  not  obliterate  or 
minimise  Himself  ;  He  emphasised  and  asserted 
Himself.  "  Ye  have  heard  that  it  hath  been 
said  by  them  of  old  time,"  opens  one  paragraph 
after  another  of  Jesus'  great  sermon,  and  then 
follows,  "  But  I  say  unto  you."  Jesus  brushes 
aside  the  ancients  as  if  they  had  never  been. 
His  disciples  were  not  to  own  any  authority 
beside  Him  ;  He  was  to  be  absolute,  with 
Apostles  and  Prophets  as  His  witnesses  and  in- 
terpreters, never  His  equals.  His  words  are 
ushered  in  with  the  solemn  formula,  "  Verily, 
verily  ;  "  they  fall  on  the  inner  ear  like  the 
stroke  of  a  bell;  they  are  independent  of  argu- 
ment. It  is  ever  "  I,"  and  one's  soul  answers 
with  reverence.  For  this  "  I  "  that  sounds  from 
every  sentence  of  the  teaching  of  Jesus  is  not  ego- 
tism ;  it  is  Deity.  The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


August  3 1 

IT  was  the  hour  before  daybreak,  and  Drum- 
sheugh  wandered  through  fields  he  had  trod- 
den since  childhood.  The  cattle  lay  sleeping 
in  the  pastures :  their  shadowy  forms,  with  a 
patch  of  whiteness  here  and  there,  having  a  weird 
suggestion  of  death.  He  heard  the  burn  run- 
ning over  the  stones;  fifty  years  ago  he  had 
made  a  dam  that  lasted  till  winter.  The 
hooting  of  an  owl  made  him  start;  one  had 
frightened  him  as  a  boy  so  that  he  ran  home  to 
his  mother — she  died  thirty  years  ago.  The 
smell  of  ripe  corn  filled  the  air;  it  would  soon 
be  cut  and  garnered.  He  could  see  the  dim 
outlines  of  his  house,  all  dark  and  cold ;  no  one 
he  loved  was  beneath  the  roof.  The  lighted 
window  in  Saunders'  cottage  told  where  a  man 
hung  between  life  and  death,  but  love  was  in 
that  home.  The  futility  of  life  arose  before 
this  lonely  man,  and  overcame  his  heart  with 
an  indescribable  sadness.  What  a  vanity  was 
all  human  labour,  what  a  mystery  all  human 
life  I  Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier  Bwh. 


September 


NO  one  can  desire  a  sweeter  walk  than 
through  a  Scottish  pine  wood  in  late 
September,  where  you  breathe  the  healing  resin- 
ous air,  and  the  ground  is  crisp  and  springy 
beneath  your  feet,  and  gentle  animals  dart 
away  on  every  side,  and  here  and  there  you 
come  on  an  open  space  with  a  pool,  and  a 
brake  of  gorse.  Many  a  time  on  market  days 
Flora  had  gone  singing  through  these  woods, 
plucking  a  posy  of  wild  flowers  and  finding  a 
mirror  in  every  pool,  as  young  girls  will ;  but 
now  she  trembled  and  was  afraid.  The  rust- 
ling of  the  trees  in  the  darkness,  the  hooting  of 
an  owl,  the  awful  purity  of  the  moonlight  in 
the  glades,  the  cold  sheen  of  the  water,  were  to 
her  troubled  conscience  omens  of  judgment. 
Had  it  not  been  for  the  kindness  of  Peter 
Bruce,  which  was  a  pledge  of  human  forgive- 
ness, there  would  have  been  no  heart  in  her  to 
dare  that  wood,  and  it  was  with  a  sob  of  relief 
she  escaped  from  the  shadow  and  looked  upon 
the  old  glen  once  more,  bathed  from  end  to 
end  in  the  light  of  the  harvest  moon. 

Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier  Bush. 


September  i 

ALAS !  his  wife  goes  off  guard,  and  a  pic- 
turesque foreigner  from  the  East  takes 
possession  of  the  study.  The  minister,  courte- 
ous as  one  ought  to  be  to  distant  strangers,  lays 
himself  out  to  extricate  the  visitor's  meaning, 
and  after  an  hour's  patient  exploration  discovers 
that  his  caller  comes  from  an  unknown  place, 
that  he  represents  himself,  that  he  wishes  to  build 
something,  that  he  is  determined  to  preach  in 
the  minister's  church  to-morrow  for  a  collection. 

The  Cure  of  Souls. 
> 

September  2 

"  <"\  T  7 LTD  ye  like  me  tae  read  something? ' 

V  V     begins  Milton  again.     «  A  've  a  fine 

tract  here,  "  A  Sandy  Foundation  ;  "  it 's  verra 

searchin'  an'  rousin','  an'  he  pits  on  his  glesses. 

"  '  Thank  ye,'  says  Jamie,  « but  thae  tracts 
are  ower  deep  for  a  simple  man  like  masel'; 
the  Bible  dis  for  me  graund.  A  've  a  favourite 
passage ;  noo,  if  ye  didna  mind  readin'  't,  it 
wud  be  a  comfort. 

" '  Turn  tae  the  23rd  o'  Matthew,  an'  it  'ill 
dae  fine  gin  ye  begin  at  the  i3th  verse,  "Woe 
unto  ye,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites,"  : 
an'  as  sure  as  a'm  lookin'  at  ye,  Drumsheugh, 
Jamie  gar'd  Milton  feenish  the  chapter,  an'  ilka 
time  heepocrites  wud  come  he  wud  say  tae  him- 
sel',  '  Maist  comfortin','  till  a'  hed  tae  gae 
OOtside.' '  The  Days  of  Anld  Lang  Syne. 


September  3 

"T7ORGIVE  your  enemies,"  said  Jesus; 
JL  "  help  the  miserable,  restore  the  fallen, 
set  the  captive  free.  Love  as  I  have  loved, 
and  you  will  succeed."  Amazing  simplicity  ! 
amazing  originality  !  Hitherto  kingdoms  had 
stood  on  the  principle  of  selfishness  —  grasp  and 
keep.  This  kingdom  was  to  rest  on  sacrifice 
—  suffer  and  serve.  Amazing  hope,  that  any- 
thing so  weak,  so  helpless,  could  regenerate  the 
masterful  world  !  But  Jesus  has  not  been  put 
to  shame :  His  plan  has  not  failed.  There  are 
many  empires  on  the  face  of  the  earth  to-day, 
but  none  so  dominant  as  the  kingdom  of  God. 
The  Mind  of  the  Master. 

* 

September  4 

A  TURN  of  the  path  brought  her  within 
sight  of  the  cottage,  and  her  heart  came 
into  her  mouth,  for  the  kitchen  window  was  a 
blaze  of  light.  One  moment  she  feared  Lachlan 
might  be  ill,  but  in  the  next  she  understood,  and 
in  the  greatness  of  her  joy  she  ran  the  rest  of  the 
way.  When  she  reached  the  door,  her  strength 
had  departed,  and  she  was  not  able  to  knock. 
But  there  was  no  need,  for  the  dogs,  who  never 
forget  nor  cast  off,  were  bidding  her  welcome 
with  short  joyous  yelps  of  delight,  and  she  could 
hear  her  father  feeling  for  the  latch,  which  for 
once  could  not  be  found,  and  saying  nothing 
but  "  Flora,  Flora."  Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier  Bush. 


September  5 

WHEN  the  new  Free  Kirk  minister  was 
settled  in  Drumtochty,  Jamie  told  him 
the  story  on  the  road  one  day  and  put  him  to 
the  test. 

"What  think  ye,  sir,  becam  o'  Posty  on 
the  ither  side?"  and  Jamie  fixed  his  eyes  on 
Carmichael. 

The  minister's  face  grew  still  whiter. 

"Did  you  ever  read  what  shall  be  done  to 
any  man  that  hurts  one  of  God's  bairns  ?  " 

"Fine,"  answered  Jamie,  with  relish,  "a 
millstane  aboot  his  neck,  an'  intae  the  depths 
o'  the  sea." 

"  Then,  it  seems  to  me  that  it  must  be  well 
with  Posty,  who  went  into  the  depths  and 
brought  a  bairn  up  at  the  cost  of  his  life,"  — 
and  Carmichael  added  softly,  "  whose  angel 
doth  continually  behold  the  face  of  the  Father." 
The  Days  of  Auld Lang  Syne. 

> 

September  6 

*  INHERE  is  a  sense  in  which  preaching  must 
J.  be  the  same  in  all  ages,  dealing  as  it  does 
with  the  everlasting  Evangel  of  the  Divine  Love. 
There  is  a  sense  in  which  preaching  must  differ 
with  every  age,  addressed  as  it  ought  to  be  to 
the  changing  conditions  of  life  and  thought. 
Christ  is  not  one,  but  many ;  and  therein  He 
has  proved  Himself  the  Son  of  Man  and  the 
Saviour  of  the  world.  The  Cure  of  Souls. 


September  7 

r  I  ""HE  manse  garden  lies  toward  the  west,  and 
_L  as  the  minister  paced  its  little  square  of 
turf,  sheltered  by  fir  hedges,  the  sun  was  going 
down  behind  the  Grampians.  Black  massy 
clouds  had  begun  to  gather  in  the  evening,  and 
threatened  to  obscure  the  sunset,  which  was  the 
finest  sight  a  Drumtochty  man  was  ever  likely 
to  see,  and  a  means  of  grace  to  every  sensible 
heart  in  the  glen.  But  the  sun  had  beat  back 
the  clouds  on  either  side,  and  shot  them  through 
with  glory,  and  now  between  piled  billows  of 
light  he  went  along  a  shining  pathway  into  the 
Gates  of  the  West.  Beside  ihe  Bonnie  Brier  Bush. 


September  8 

WHEN  a  prophet's  inner  vision  had  been 
cleansed  by  the  last  agony  of  pain,  he 
dares  to  describe  the  Eternal  as  a  fond  mother 
who  holds  Ephraim  by  the  hands,  teaching  him 
to  go  ;  who  is  outraged  by  his  sin,  and  yet 
cannot  bear  that  Israel  should  perish  :  as  a 
Husband  who  has  offered  a  rejected  love,  and 
still  pleads  ;  who  is  stained  by  a  wife's  unfaith- 
fulness, and  pursues  an  adulteress  with  entreaties. 
One  cannot  lay  his  hand  on  the  body  of  pro- 
phetical Scripture  without  feeling  the  beat  of 
the  Divine  heart  :  one  can  detect  in  its  most  dis- 
tant member  the  warmth  of  the  Divine  love. 

The  Mind  of  the  Master 


September  9 

IT  is  not  the  man  who  selects  the  text  —  that 
is  not  the  inwardness  of  the  fact  —  it  is  the 
text  which  selects  the  man.  As  the  minister  was 
busy  with  study,  or  as  he  sat  by  the  bedside  of 
the  sick,  or  as  he  walked  the  crowded  street,  or 
as  he  wandered  over  the  purple  heather,  or  — 
such  things  have  happened,  the  grace  of  God 
being  sovereign  —  as  he  endured  in  a  Church 
Court,  the  truth,  clad  in  a  text,  which  is  the 
more  or  less  perfect  dress  of  the  Spirit,  suddenly 
appeared  and  claimed  his  acquaintance. 

The  Cure  of  Souls. 
* 

September  10 

"  TV T  A,  na,  Burnbrae,  we  're  no'  tae  lose  ye 

IN  yet  ;  ye  '11  hae  yir  kirk  and  yir  fairm 
in  spite  o'  a'  the  factors  in  Perthshire,  but  a  'm 
expeckin'  a  fecht." 

"Thank  ye,  Drumsheugh,  thank  ye  kindly  ; 
and  wull  ye  tell  Doctor  Davidson  that  he  hesna 
lived  forty  years  in  the  Glen  for  naethin'  ? 

"  We  said  this  mornin'  that  he  wud  scorn 
tae  fill  his  kirk  with  renegades,  and  sae  wud  ye 
a' ,  but  a'  wesna  prepared  for  sic  feelin' . 

"  There  's  ae  thing  maks  me  prood  o'  the 
Glen  :  nae  man,  Auld  or  Free,  hes  bidden  me 
pit  ma  fairm  afore  ma  kirk,  but  a'  body  expecks 
me  tae  obey  ma  conscience." 

The  Days  of  A  uld  Lang  Syne. 


September  n 

THE  principle  of  vicarious  sacrifice,  for  in- 
stance —  that  one  person  should  get  good 
from  another's  sufferings, — maybe  proved  to 
be  true  by  texts  of  Holy  Scripture,  and  it  may 
also  be  shown  to  be  absurd  by  argument,  but 
it  may  be  placed  beyond  criticism  by  reference 
to  a  mother,  through  whose  sufferings  and  self- 
denial  the  child  lives  and  comes  to  strength. 

The  Cure  of  Souls. 

V 

September  12 

*'  TT's  nae  use,"  he  cried,  "  he  's  first  in  the 
-L  Humanity  oot  o'  a  hundred  and  seeventy 
lads,  first  o'  them  a',  and  he's  first  in  the 
Greek  too  ;  the  like  o'  this  is  hardly  known, 
and  it  has  na  been  seen  in  Drumtochty  since 
there  was  a  schule.  That's  the  word  he's 
sent,  and  he  bade  me  tell  his  mother  without 
delay,  and  I  am  here  as  fast  as  my  old  feet 
could  carry  me." 

I  glanced  round,  although  I  did  not  myself 
see  very  clearly. 

Marget  was  silent  for  the  space  of  five 
seconds  ;  she  was  a  good  woman,  and  I  knew 
that  better  afterwards.  She  took  the  Dominie's 
hand,  and  said  to  him,  "  Under  God  this  was 
your  doing,  Maister  Jamieson,  and  for  your 
reward  ye  'ill  get  naither  silver  nor  gold,  but  ye 
hae  a  mither's  gratitude." 

Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier  Bush. 


September  13 

WE  are  amused  by  the  societies  which  are 
the  custodians  of  Ruskin  and  Browning, 
but  none  can  be  indifferent  to  the  manipulation 
of  Jesus'  words.  If  Jesus'  delicate  poetry  be 
reduced  to  prose,  and  the  fair,  carved  work  of 
His  parables  be  used  for  the  building  of  prisons, 
and  His  lovely  portrait  of  God  be  "  restored" 
with  grotesque  colouring,  and  His  lucid  prin- 
ciples of  life  be  twisted  into  harassing  regula- 
tions, then  Jesus  has  been  much  wronged,  and 
the  world  has  suffered  irreparable  loss. 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 
* 

September  14 

ONE  thing  the  pastor  cannot  do  :  criticise 
his  people  or  make  distinctions  among 
them.  Others,  with  no  shepherd  heart,  may 
miss  the  hidden  goodness  ;  he  searches  for  it 
as  for  fine  gold.  Others  may  judge  people  for 
faults  and  sins  ;  he  takes  them  for  his  own. 
Others  may  make  people's  foibles  the  subject 
of  their  raillery  ;  the  pastor  cannot  because  he 
loves.  Does  this  interest  on  the  part  of  one 
not  related  by  blood  or  long  friendship  seem  an 
impertinence  ?  It  ought  to  be  pardoned,  for  it 
is  the  only  one  of  the  kind  that  is  likely  to  be 
offered.  Is  it  a  sentiment  ?  Assuredly,  the 
same  sublime  devotion  which  has  made  Jesus 
the  Good  Shepherd  of  the  soul. 

The  Cure  ofScntls. 


September  15 

HT*HE  spirit  of  our  day  is  so  resentful  of  tradi- 
-L  tionalism  as  to  be  even  impatient  of  theol- 
ogy, which  is  foolish  ;  and  to  threaten  faith, 
which  would  be  ruin.  No  one,  however,  need 
be  alarmed,  for  there  is  good  reason  to  believe 
that  the  end  will  be  the  toleration  of  a  noble 
science  and  the  re-establishment  of  faith.  When 
workmen  come  with  pickaxe  and  shovel,  it  is 
either  to  destroy  or  to  discover,  and  the  aim  of 
present  thought  is  discovery. 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


September  16 

THE  religious  nomad,  who  changes  his 
church  every  three  years,  who  assures  each 
minister  on  arrival  that  in  his  poor  judgment  he 
is  the  most  brilliant  preacher  in  the  city,  who 
begins  by  attending  every  service  in  the  week, 
and  can  hardly  be  kept  out  of  the  mothers' 
meeting,  who  regrets  that  he  cannot  give  to  the 
funds  as  his  means  have  long  been  consecrated 
in  a  special  direction  —  whose  wife  calls  towards 
the  end  of  the  three  years  to  explain  that  she 
feels  it  her  duty  to  go  with  her  husband,  who  is 
receiving  much  benefit  from  a  course  of  lectures 
on  the  Vials  of  the  Revelation,  given  by  the 
new  minister  of  a  neighbouring  church. 

The  Cure  of  Souls. 


September  17 

"  T^OWER  o  's,"  resumed  MacLure ;  "  an' 
r  Sandie  got  a  Russian  bayonet  through 
his  breist  fechtin'  ae  snawy  nicht  in  the  trenches, 
an'  puir  Squintydee'd  oot  in  Ameriky  wearyin' 
for  the  Glen,  an'  wishin'  he  cud  be  buried  in 
Drumtochty  kirkyaird.  Fine  laddies  baith,  an' 
that 's  twa  o'  the  fower  truants  that  hae  gane 
hame.  You  an'  me,  Drum,  hed  the  farthest 
road  tae  traivel  that  nicht,  an'  we're  the  laist 
again.  The  sun'ssettin'  for  us  tae  ;  we've 
hed  a  gude  lang  day,  and  ye  '11  hae  a  whilie 
aifter  me,  but  we  maun  follow  the  ither  twa." 
"  Ye 're  richt,  Weelum,  aboot  the  end  o't, 
whichever  gangs  first,"  said  Drumsheugh. 

The  Days  of  A  uld  Lang  Syne- 

* 

September  18 

WE  have  often  hoped  for  reconciliation  be- 
tween science  and  religion,  where  none 
is  needed  ;  often  hoped  for  reconciliation  be- 
tween reason  and  faith,  where  none  is  needed, 
since  each  works  in  a  different  department  of 
human  life  ;  but  there  is  a  reconciliation  needed 
for  which  all  devout  and  reverent  men  yearn, 
and  it  is  the  reconciliation  between  dogma  and 
religion.  They  are  not  antagonistic,  and  if 
they  have  ever  been  forced  into  lamentable  riv- 
alry, they  will  make  a  covenant  of  peace  in  the 
love  of  the  Father  and  of  Jesus  Christ  His  son. 

The  Cure  of  Souls. 


September  19 

Jesus  who  gave  the  Sermon  on  the 
v^  Mount  and  the  discourse  of  the  upper 
room,  who  satisfied  St.  John  and  loosed  St. 
Mary  Magdalene  from  her  sin,  and  who  remains 
the  unapproachable  ideal  of  perfection,  be  anni- 
hilated by  a  few  nails  and  the  thrust  of  a  Roman 
spear  ?  .  .  .  The  certainty  of  Jesus'  Resurrec- 
tion does  not  rest  in  the  last  issue  on  His  iso- 
lated appearances  during  the  forty  days  ;  it 
rests  on  His  Life  for  thirty-three  years.  His 
Life  was  beyond  the  reach  of  death  ;  it  was  Age- 
less Life.  The  Mind  ofthe  Master. 


September  20 

IF  the  sermon  be  in  its  degree  a  prophetical 
utterance,  then  it  must  be  in  its  essence  a 
mystery.  What  the  prophet  tells  forth  he  must 
first  be  told,  but  how  God  uncovers  His  ser- 
vant's ear  and  whispers  His  message  no  one 
can  explain.  The  true  preacher  is  distinguished 
by  a  certain  demonic  influence  —  a  divine  pas- 
sion —  which  breathes  through  the  thought,  the 
words,  the  very  manner,  which  cannot  be  de- 
scribed, which  is  felt  in  the  marrow  ofthe  bones. 
This  is  the  only  infallible  sign  of  a  prophet  ;  it 
is  the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  about 
such  secret  and  sacred  things  it  becometh  one  to 
be  silent  and  to  fear.  The  Cure  of  Souls. 


September  21 

"  T  T  7HEN  I  was  your  verra  age  I  had  a 
V  V  cruel  trial,  and  ma  heart  was  turned 
frae  faith.  The  classics  hae  been  my  bible, 
though  I  said  naethin'  to  ony  man  against 
Christ.  He  aye  seemed  beyond  man,  and  noo 
the  veesion  o'  Him  has  come  to  me  in  this  gair- 
den.  Laddie,  ye  hae  dune  far  mair  for  me  than 
I  ever  did  for  you.  Wull  ye  mak  a  prayer  for 
yir  auld  dominie  afore  we  pairt  ?  " 

There  was  a  thrush  singing  in  the  birches  and 
a  sound  of  bees  in  the  air,  when  George  prayed 
in  a  low,  soft  voice,  with  a  little  break  in  it. 

Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier  Bush. 
> 

September  22 

JESUS  fused  His  disciples  into  one  body,  and, 
by  this  act  alone,  separated  Himself  from 
the  method  of  philosophy.  Philosophy  is  con- 
tent with  an  audience  ;  Jesus  demands  a  society. 
Philosophy  teaches  men  to  think  ;  Jesus  moves 
them  to  do.  Philosophy  can  do  no  more  be- 
cause it  has  no  centre  of  unity :  the  kingdom  of 
God  is  richer,  for  there  is  Jesus.  Socrates  ob- 
literated himself ;  Jesus  asserted  Himself,  and 
united  His  followers  to  each  other  by  binding 
them  to  Himself.  Loyalty  to  Jesus  was  to  be 
the  spinal  cord  to  the  new  body,  and  the  sacra- 
ments were  to  be  the  signs  of  the  new  spirit. 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


September  23 

WHAT  is  wanting,  and  what  cannot  be 
wanted,  is  the  sense  of  the  unseen  and 
eternal  —  of  the  everlasting  love  of  God,  the 
atoning  sacrifice  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the 
unspeakable  value  of  a  single  soul,  the  infinite 
pathos  of  human  life,  the  tenderness  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  the  graciousness  of  the  Evangel. 
Bathed  in  such  springs  of  profound  emotion,  no 
man  will  be  able  to  preach  without  tears,  which 
will  be  all  the  more  affecting  if  they  be  in  the 
heart  rather  than  in  the  eyes.  The  Cure  of  Souls. 


September  24 

T)HYSICAL  death  Jesus  refused  to  recog- 
-L  nise  ;  it  was  an  incident  in  the  history  of 
Life.  Death  was  a  calamity  of  the  soul,  and  a 
living  soul  was  invulnerable.  "  I  am  the  Res- 
urrection and  the  Life  :  he  that  believeth  in  me, 
though  he  were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live:  and 
whosoever  liveth,  and  believeth  in  me,  shall 
never  die.1'  It  was  a  brave  struggle  for  reality, 
and  liberated  the  first  disciples  from  the  bond- 
age of  the  physical  ;  but  the  atmosphere  is  too 
rare  for  His  modern  disciples,  who,  for  the  most 
part,  speak  exactly  as  if  they  were  Pagans 
in  the  Street  of  Tombs  at  Athens,  instead  of 
Christians  who  had  sat  at  Jesus'  feet. 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


September  25 

H,  I  ken  weel  that  George  is  gaein'  to 
leave  us  ;  but  it  's  no  because  the 
Almichty  is  jealous  o'  him  or  me,  no  likely. 
It  cam'  to  me  last  nicht  that  He  needs  my 
laddie  for  some  grand  wark  in  the  ither  world, 
and  that  'shoo  George  has  his  bukes  brocht 
oot  tae  the  garden  and  studies  a'  the  day.  He 
wants  to  be  ready  for  his  kingdom,  just  as  he 
trachled  in  the  bit  schule  o'  Drumtochty  for 
Edinbro'.  I  hoped  he  wud  hae  been  a  minis- 
ter o'  Christ's  Gospel  here,  but  he  'ill  be  judge 
over  many  cities  yonder." 

Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier  Bush. 


September  26 

'  I  ^HERE  are  times  when  one  wishes  he  had 
-L  never  read  the  New  Testament  Scrip- 
tures —  that  he  might  some  day  open  St.  Luke's 
Gospel,  and  the  most  beautiful  book  in  the  world 
might  come  upon  his  soul  like  sunrise.  It  is 
a  doubtful  fortune  to  be  born  in  Athens  and 
every  day  to  see  the  Parthenon  against  the  violet 
sky  :  better  to  make  a  single  pilgrimage  and 
carry  for  ever  the  vision  of  beauty  in  your  heart. 
Devout  Christians  must  be  haunted  by  the  fear 
that  Jesus'  sublime  words  may  have  lost  their 
heavenliness  through  our  familiarity,  or  that  they 
may  have  been  overlaid  by  our  conventional 
interpretations.  The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


September  27 

AMONG  all  the  houses  in  a  Scottish  parish 
the  homeliest  and  kindliest  is  the  manse, 
for  to  its  door  some  time  in  the  year  comes 
every  inhabitant,  from  the  laird  to  the  cottar- 
woman.  Within  the  familiar  and  old-fashioned 
study,  where  the  minister's  chair  and  writing- 
table  could  not  be  changed  without  discompos- 
ing the  parish,  and  where  there  are  fixed  degrees 
of  station,  so  that  the  laird  has  his  chair  and 
the  servant  lass  hers,  the  minister  receives  and 
does  his  best  for  all  the  folk  committed  to  his 
Charge.  Kate  Carnegie. 

jjt 

September  28 

WE  ought  to  discern  the  real  strength  of 
Christianity  and  revive  the  ancient  pas- 
sion for  Jesus.  It  is  the  distinction  of  our 
religion  :  it  is  the  guarantee  of  its  triumph. 
Faith  may  languish ;  creeds  may  be  changed ; 
churches  may  be  dissolved ;  society  may  be 
shattered.  But  one  cannot  imagine  the  time 
when  Jesus  will  not  be  the  fair  image  of  perfec- 
tion, or  the  circumstances  wherein  He  will  not 
be  loved.  He  can  never  be  superseded;  he  can 
never  be  exceeded.  Religions  will  come  and 
go,  the  passing  shapes  of  an  eternal  instinct,  but 
Jesus  will  remain  the  standard  of  the  conscience 
and  the  satisfaction  of  the  heart,  whom  all  men 
seek,  in  whom  all  men  will  yet  meet. 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


September  29 

HE  can  understand  truth  whose  mind  has 
been  illuminated  by  the  Spirit  of  God 
and  his  heart  cleansed  by  the  Cross  of  Christ. 
It  is  good  to  use  all  the  means  of  learning  with 
diligence,  but  best  to  live  in  fellowship  with 
Jesus,  for  he  only  who  comes  forth  from  the 
secret  place  of  God  will  carry  with  him  the 
Living  Word  and  the  Divine  Unction. 

The  Cure  of  Souls. 


September  30 

talked  of  many  things  at  tea,  with  joy 
-L  running  over  Drumsheugh's  heart ;  and 
then  spoke  of  Geordie  all  the  way  across  the 
moor,  on  which  the  moon  was  shining.  They 
parted  at  the  edge,  where  Marget  could  see  the 
lights  of  home,  and  Drumsheugh  caught  the 
sorrow  of  her  face  for  him  that  had  to  go  back 
alone  to  an  empty  house. 

"  Dinna  peety  me,  Marget;  a've  hed  ma 
reward,  an'  a'm  mair  than  content." 

On  reaching  home  he  opened  the  family 
Bible  at  a  place  that  was  marked,  and  this  was 
what  he  read  to  himself:  "They  which  shall 
be  accounted  worthy  .  .  .  neither  marry  nor 
are  given  in  marriage  .  .  .  but  are  as  the 
angels  of  God  in  heaven." 

The  Days  of  A  uld  Lang  Syne. 


October 

JESUS  found  a  multitude  of  individuals  and 
created  a  spiritual  kingdom.  The  advance 
from  a  congeries  of  individuals  to  an  organised 
society  is  marked  by  four  milestones.  First, 
we  are  simply  conscious  of  other  men  and 
accept  the  fact  of  their  existence;  we  realise 
our  mutual  dependence  and  come  to  a  working 
agreement.  This  is  the  infancy  of  the  Race, 
and  conscience  is  not  yet  awake.  Then  we 
discover  that  there  are  certain  things  one  must 
not  do  to  his  neighbour,  and  certain  services 
one  may  expect  from  his  neighbour,  that  to 
injure  the  next  man  is  misery  and  to  help  him 
is  happiness.  This  is  the  childhood  of  the  Race, 
and  conscience  now  asserts  itself.  Afterwards 
we  begin  to  review  the  situation  and  to  collect 
our  various  duties :  we  arrange  them  under 
heads  and  state  them  in  black  and  white.  This 
is  the  youth  of  the  Race,  and  reason  is  now  in 
action.  Finally,  we  take  up  our  list  of  black 
and  white  rules  and  try  to  settle  their  connec- 
tion. Is  it  not  possible  to  trace  them  all  to  one 
root  and  comprehend  them  in  one  act  ?  What 
a  light  to  conscience,  a  relief  to  reason,  a  joy  to 
the  heart  !  This  is  the  mature  manhood  of  the 
Race,  and  the  heart  is  now  in  evidence.  From 
an  instinct  to  duties,  from  duties  to  rules,  and 
now  from  rules  to  Law.  State  that  Law,  and 
the  Race  becomes  one  society. 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


October  i 

HE  had  taken  a  high  place  at  the  University, 
and  won  a  good  degree,  and  I  've  heard 
the  Doctor  say  that  he  had  a  career  before  him. 
But  something  happened  in  his  life,  and  Domsie 
buried  himself  among  the  woods  with  the  bairns 
of  Drumtochty.  No  one  knew  the  story,  but 
after  he  died  I  found  a  locket  on  his  breast,  with 
a  proud,  beautiful  face  within,  and  I  have  fan- 
cied it  was  a  tragedy.  It  may  have  been  in 
substitution  that  he  gave  all  his  love  to  the  chil- 
dren, and  nearly  all  his  money  too,  helping  lads 
to  college,  and  affording  an  inexhaustible  store 
of  peppermints  for  the  little  ones. 

Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier  Bush. 


October  2 

WITH  moderns,  Deity  and  virtue  are  syn- 
onymous ;  with  ancients,  deities  and  vice 
were  synonymous.      Upon  two  hills  only  was 
the  Divine  raised  above  the 

"  Howling  senses'  ebb  and  flow." 
One  was  the  Acropolis  where  the  golden  shaft 
in  Athene's  hand  guided  the  mariner  passing 
Salamis.  The  other  was  the  Holy  Hill  where 
Jehovah  remained  the  refuge  of  every  righteous 
man.  But  the  advantage  lay  with  the  Jew. 
The  wisdom  of  Athens  was  seated  in  reason, 
and  did  not  affect  life  :  the  wisdom  of  Jerusalem 
was  seated  in  conscience,  and  created  conduct. 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


October  3 

/^VRIGINALITY  in  literature  is  called  dis- 
V_y  covery  in  science,  and  the  lonely  suprem- 
acy of  Jesus  rests  not  on  what  He  said,  but  on 
what  He  did.  Jesus  is  absolute  Master  in  the 
sphere  of  religion,  which  is  a  science  dealing  not 
with  intellectual  conceptions,  but  with  spiritual 
facts.  His  ideas  are  not  words,  they  are  laws ; 
they  are  not  thoughts,  they  are  forces.  He  did 
not  suggest,  He  asserted  what  He  had  seen  by 
direct  vision.  He  did  not  propose,  He  com- 
manded as  one  who  knew  there  was  no  other 
way.  The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


October  4 

T     ET  no  man   think  lightly  of  the  village 
I    ^    church  and  its  faithful  pastor. 

Where  would  city  Christianity  be  without 
the  men  and  women  of  strong,  stable  character 
that  are  added  from  the  country  ?  Who  made 
their  character  ?  This  man  who  is  unheard  of, 
who  is  too  often  badgered  about  raising  money, 
who  has  the  lowest  stipend,  who  goes  home 
feeling  himself  a  burden  on  the  Church.  Let 
him  lift  up  his  head.  His  is  lasting  work,  for 
he  has  wrought  in  imperishable  material  —  not 
in  silver  or  gold,  but  in  the  souls  of  men.  His 
Master  knoweth :  his  reward  remaineth. 

The  Cure  a/Souls. 


October  5 

FOR  the  moment  the  heroism  of  the  deed 
had  carried  her  away,  but  as  she  went 
home  the  pity  of  it  all  came  over  her.  For  the 
best  part  of  his  life  had  this  man  been  toiling 
and  suffering,  all  that  another  might  have  com- 
fort, and  all  this  travail  without  the  recompense 
of  love.  What  patience,  humility,  tenderness, 
sacrifice  lay  in  unsuspected  people  !  How  long  ? 
.  .  .  Perhaps  thirty  years,  and  no  one  knew, 
and  no  one  said,  "  Well  done  !  "  He  had 
veiled  his  good  deeds  well,  and  accepted  many 
a  jest  that  must  have  cut  him  to  the  quick. 
Marget'  s  heart  began  to  warm  to  this  unassum- 
ing man  as  it  had  not  done  even  by  George's 
chair.  The  Days  Of  Autd  Lang  Syne. 


October  6 

IT  must  have  been  a  great  joy  to  breathe  the 
air  in  the  periods  of  Renaissance,  whether 
in  Physics  or  in  Letters — to  live  in  the  days 
that  preceded  the  Reformation,  when  classical 
scholarship  was  revived  and  placed  again  before 
the  world  :  to  live  in  the  days  of  Elizabethan 
Letters,  and  to  feel  the  inspiration  of  Spenser 
and  Shakespeare!  Some  of  us  know  what  it 
is  to  have  seen  the  immense  discoveries  and 
bright  hopefulness  of  physical  science  in  the 
century.  The  Cltre  of  Souls. 


October  7 

LIFE,  as  Jesus  understood  it,  consisting  of 
Love  and  Sacrifice,  does  not  belong  to 
any  age  because  it  is  the  inhabitant  of  all.  Its 
roots  are  struck  into  the  unchanging  and  eternal. 
It  has  already  a  spiritual  environment,  and  when 
this  present  state  of  things  is  removed  Life  will 
rise  to  its  full  height  and  find  itself  at  home. 
This  is  Life  which  cannot  be  lost.  Life  to-day, 
it  would  have  been  Life  when  the  Pyramids 
were  new,  it  will  be  Life  when  the  earth  is  an 
ice-cold  ball.  Life  is  contemporaneous  with 
all  the  centuries,  it  anticipates  and  closes  them. 
"Time  is  a  parenthesis  in  eternity,"  says  a 
fine  old  classic.  The  Mind  of  the  Master. 

* 

October  8 

IF  sin  be  a  principle  in  a  man's  life,  then  it 
is  evident  that  it  cannot  be  affected  by  the 
most  pathetic  act  in  history  exhibited  from  with- 
out ;  it  must  be  met  by  an  opposite  principle 
working  from  within.  If  sin  be  selfishness,  as 
Jesus  taught,  then  it  can  only  be  overcome  by 
the  introduction  of  a  spirit  of  self-renunciation. 
Jesus  did  not  denounce  sin  :  negative  religion 
is  always  impotent.  He  replaced  sin  by  virtue, 
which  is  a  silent  revolution.  As  the  light  enters, 
the  darkness  departs,  and  as  soon  as  one  re- 
nounced himself,  he  had  ceased  from  sin. 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


October  9 

/"CHARLIE  knelt  on  the  turf  before  the  stone, 
V^x  and,  taking  off  his  hat,  prayed  God  his 
sins  might  be  forgiven,  and  that  one  day  he 
might  meet  the  trusting  hearts  that  had  not 
despaired  of  his  return. 

He  rose  uncomforted,  however,  and  stood 
beneath  the  beech  where  Jamie  Soutar  had 
once  lashed  him  for  his  unmanliness.  Looking 
down,  he  saw  the  fields  swept  clean  of  grain ; 
he  heard  the  sad  murmur  of  the  water,  that 
laughed  at  the  shortness  of  life  ;  withered  leaves 
fell  at  his  feet,  and  the  October  sun  faded  from 
the  kirkyard.  A  chill  struck  to  his  heart,  be- 
cause there  was  none  to  receive  his  repentance, 
none  to  stretch  out  to  him  a  human  hand,  and 
bid  him  go  in  peace. 

The  Days  of  Avid  Lang  Syne. 


October  10 

IT  is  a  question  whether  one  is  wise  to  revisit 
any  place  where  he  has  often  been  in  happier 
times  and  see  it  desolate.  For  me,  at  least,  it 
was  a  mistake,  and  the  melancholy  is  still  upon 
me.  The  deserted  house  falling  at  last  to 
pieces,  the  overgrown  garden,  the  crumbling 
paths,  the  gaping  bridges  over  the  little  burns, 
and  the  loneliness,  chilled  one's  soul. 

Kate  Carnegie. 


October  1  1 


I^HIS  sublime  passion  did  not  die  with  the 
sacrifice  of  the  martyrs,  a  mere  hysteric 
of  Religion,  for  it  has  continued  unto  this  day 
the  hidden  spring  of  all  sacrifice  and  beauty  in 
the  Christian  life.  The  immense  superstitions 
of  the  Middle  Ages  were  redeemed  by  the 
love  of  Jesus,  radiant  in  the  life  of  St.  Francis, 
reflected  from  the  labours  of  the  "  Friends  of 
God."  There  was  a  glory  over  all  the  bitter 
controversies  of  the  sixteenth  century,  because 
on  the  one  side  piety  desired  a  spiritual  access  to 
Jesus'  Person  ;  and  on  the  other,  piety  longed 
for  the  comfort  of  His  Real  Presence. 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 
> 

October  12 

"T  ONCE  heard  him  preach,"  said  a  man 
J-  of  letters,  who  was  referring  to  a  dis- 
tinguished clergyman,  "  and  it  was  an  excellent 
sermon  —  about  the  best  in  my  experience." 
"  His  text  ?  "  "  I  have  not  the  ghost  of  an 
idea,  nor  do  I  remember  his  argument,  nor 
anything  he  said."  "  How  do  I  know  that  it 
was  good  ?  Because  before  we  left  church  he 
convinced  us  that  God  was  love.  I  am  not 
sure  that  I  believe  that  to-day,  but  I  believed  it 
that  morning.  —  Yes,"  he  added,  "that  man 
deserves  his  name,  for  he  knows  his  business." 

The  Cure  of  Souls. 


October  13 

IF  any  one  is  so  fortunate  as  to  hold  in  his 
heart  and  in  its  fulness  the  Catholic  faith 
concerning  Jesus,  his  richly  developed  charac- 
ter will  be  the  unanswerable  vindication  of  his 
creed.  If  one,  less  fortunate,  should  miss  that 
full  vision  of  Jesus,  which  is  the  inheritance 
of  the  saints,  then  it  will  be  the  less  necessary 
to  criticise  his  creed,  since  a  frost-bitten  and 
poverty-stricken  character  will  be  its  swift  con- 
demnation. The  Mind  Ofthe  Master. 


October  14 

WHEN  we  have  got  into  our  blood  for 
ever  the  conception  of  God  which  crowns 
Him  the  King,  Holy  and  Almighty,  we  are 
prepared  upon  a  sound  moral  basis  to  receive 
Him  as  the  loving  and  merciful  Father.  One 
therefore  anticipates  that  the  new  doctrine  will 
be  based  on  the  conception  of  the  Divine 
Fatherhood  —  not  the  Fatherhood  which  throws 
away  the  Judgeship  and  the  Righteousness  of 
God,  but  the  Fatherhood  that  gathers  these  up 
into  a  nobler  and  final  unity  ,  and  that  the 
Incarnation  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  as  the 
revelation  of  the  Father  and  the  Head  of  the 
human  race,  will  yield  more  blessed  and  prac- 
tical fruit  in  the  life  of  the  race  from  year  to 

Ttie  Cure  of  Smth. 


October  15 

S~~*  IVING  is  a  fine  grace  and  an  excellent  dis- 
V_J  cipline  for  character,  but  endless  and  pa- 
thetic begging  for  money,  with  all  sorts  of 
expedients  from  bazaars  to  tea-meetings,  is  not 
at  all  within  the  range  of  grace,  and  aids  no 
one's  character.  The  Cure  of  Souls. 

JESUS  did  not  repeat  the  role  of  Moses.  He 
did  not  forbid  His  disciples  to  steal  or 
tell  lies  5  it  would  have  been  a  waste  of  His 
power  to  teach  the  alphabet  of  morals.  He 
takes  morality  for  granted,  and  carves  what 
Moses  has  hewn.  His  great  discourse  moves 
not  in  the  sphere  of  duty  but  in  the  atmosphere 
of  love.  The  Mind  of  the  Master. 

* 

October  16 

"  T^\INNA  fash  wi'  medicine  ;  gie  her  plenty 
L-J  o' fresh  milk  and  plenty  o' air.  There's 
nae  leevin'  for  a  doctor  wi'  that  Drumtochty 
air ;  it  hasna  a  marra  in  Scotland.  It  starts 
frae  the  Moray  Firth  and  sweeps  doon  Bade- 
noch,  and  comes  ower  the  moor  o'  Rannoch 
and  across  the  Grampians.  There  's  the  salt 
o'  the  sea,  and  the  caller  air  o'  the  hills,  and 
the  smell  o'  the  heather,  and  the  bloom  o' 
mony  a  flower  in  't.  If  there 's  nae  disease  in 
the  organs  o'  the  body,  a  puff  o'  Drumtochty 
air  wud  bring  back  a  man  frae  the  gates  o' 
deith.  *  *  Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier  Bush. 


October  17 

JESUS  knew  that  it  was  not  possible  to  di- 
vide men  into  two  classes  by  the  foliage 
of  the  outer  life,  as  it  is  seen  from  the  highway. 
Few  people  are  saints  or  devils  in  their  daily 
conduct  :  most  are  a  mixture  of  good  and  bad. 
Below  the  variety  of  action  lies  the  unity  of 
principle.  Some  people  have  grave  faults  and 
yet  we  believe  they  are  good  ;  some  are  para- 
gons of  respectability  and  yet  we  are  sure  they 
are  bad.  No  one  would  refuse  St.  Peter  a 
place  with  Jesus,  although  he  denied  Him  once 
with  curses  ;  none  propose  a  place  with  Jesus 
for  Judas,  although  he  only  committed  himself 
once  in  public.  An  instinct  tells  us  the  direc- 
tion of  the  soul  ;  the  trend  of  character. 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 
* 

October  18 

ONE  of  the  lassies,  specially  dressed  for  the 
occasion,  was  continually  bringing  in  hot 
water  and  reserve  tea-pots,  till  the  doctor 
accused  Drumsheugh  of  seven  cups,  and 
threatened  him  with  the  session  for  immoderate 
drinking ;  and  Drumsheugh  hinted  that  the 
doctor  was  only  one  short  himself.  Simple 
fooling  of  country-folk,  that  would  sound  very 
poor  beside  the  wit  of  the  city,  but  who  shall 
estimate  the  love  in  Burnbrae's  homely  room 

that  evening  ?  The  Days  of  Auld  Lang  Syne. 


October  19 

/"CRITICISM  has  offended  the  Church  by  its 
V_^  pretentiousness,  for  its  preachers  were 
apt  to  speak  as  if  they  had  a  new  Gospel.  Of 
course  they  had  nothing,  and  could  have  noth- 
ing, of  the  kind.  They  have  given  a  large 
amount  of  information  and  they  have  removed 
some  traditions,  but  a  message  for  the  soul 
criticism  can  never  offer.  The  Gospel  is  a 
certain  voice  of  God,  which  sounds  from  the 
first  book  of  the  Bible  to  the  last,  and  any  science 
which  handles  the  body  of  the  books  does  not 
come  near  the  soul.  The  critic  has  established 
a  debt  of  gratitude  at  the  hands  of  the  Church, 
but  when  he  confounds  himself  with  the  evan- 
gelist he  has  forgotten  his  place. 

The  Cure  of  Souls. 


October  20 

SOME  have  imagined  an  earthly  paradise  for 
the  race,  where  it  would  have  remained 
ignorant  of  good  and  evil,  without  exertion, 
without  hardship.  Jesus  saw  with  clearer  eyes. 
He  made  no  moan  over  a  lost  Eden,  He  knew 
that  it  is  a  steep  road  that  leads  to  the  stars. 
Jesus  believed  that  the  price  of  all  real  life  is 
suffering,  and  that  a  man  must  sell  all  that  he 
has  to  buy  the  pearl  of  great  price. 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


October  21 

r  I  ^HE  pastor  does  not  delay  over  the  appear- 
JL  ance  and  circumstances  of  a  man  any  more 
than  Christ  did  ;  like  his  Master  he  pierces  to 
the  spiritual  part,  the  real  man.  He  is  always 
impressed,  and  sometimes  quite  overwhelmed, 
by  the  value  of  the  immortal  soul  - —  this  soul, 
still  plastic  and  unfired,  for  which  he  can  do  so 
much  or  so  little.  He  trembles  for  It  when  he 
sees  the  destroyer  hovering  over  it  like  a  hawk 
poised  in  mid-air,  and  would  fain  have  it 
gathered  beneath  Christ's  wing. 

The  Cure  of  SouU. 
* 

October  22 

THE  thought  of  the  Old  Testament  moves 
forward  to  the  life  of  Jesus.  Its  conduct 
is  revised  by  the  commandments  of  Jesus  ;  its 
piety  is  crowned  in  Jesus'  last  discourses.  We 
read  the  53rd  chapter  of  Isaiah  in  order  that  we 
may  visit  Calvary.  The  Ten  Words  are  only 
eclipsed  by  the  Law  of  Love.  There  is  one 
passage  dearer  than  the  23rd  Psalm,  and  that 
is  the  1 4th  chapter  of  St.  John's  Gospel.  The 
faith  that  would  seek  its  guidance  from  the 
Patriarchs  rather  than  from  the  Apostles,  and 
quotes  from  history  to  qualify  the  Gospels,  is 
elementary  and  undeveloped. 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


October  23 

HE  is  a  poor  creature  who  cannot  be  angry, 
and  who  is  not  ready  to  challenge  wanton 
evil-doers.  The  thunderstorm  has  its  function, 
but  let  it  be  brief,  and  be  followed  by  the  clear 
shining  after  rain.  Sarcasm  serves  so  little  pur- 
pose, and  does  so  much  mischief,  that  it  had 
better  be  left  out  of  the  preacher's  medicine- 
chest.  People  cannot  be  turned  from  sin  by 
gibes,  nor  scourged  into  the  Kingdom  of  God 
by  sneers.  The  Curt  of  Souls. 


October  24 

"  r  I  ""AK  the  minister  o'  Pitscourie  noo ;  he 's 
JL     fair  fozzy  wi'  trokin'  in  his  gairden  an' 
feeding  pigs,  and  hesna  studied  a  sermon  for 
thirty  year. 

"  Sae  what  dis  he  dae,  think  ye  ?  He  havers 
for  a  whilie  on  the  errors  o*  the  day,  and  syne 
he  says,  «  That '  s  what  man  says,  but  what  says 
the  Apostle  Paul?  We  shall  see  what  the 
Apostle  Paul  says/  He  puts  on  his  glasses, 
and  turns  up  the  passage,  and  reads  maybe  ten 
verses,  and  then  he's  aff  on  the  jundy  [trot] 
again.  When  a  man  hes  naethin'  tae  say  he  's 
aye  lang,  and  a  've  seen  him  gie  half  an  oor  o' 
passages,  and  anither  half  oor  o'  havers." 

Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier  Bush. 


October  25 

'  I  "HERE  are  certain  rights  which  are  legal; 
_L  there  are  certain  rights  which  are  natural. 
No  law  can  take  away  the  latter,  nor  can  a  man 
divest  himself  of  them  by  any  form  of  engage- 
ment ;  and  among  the  inherent  rights  of  a  Chris- 
tian man  is  his  appeal  to  Jesus  as  the  one  Judge 
of  truth.  It  has  often  lain  dormant  in  the 
Church;  it  has  at  times  been  powerfully  exer- 
cised. Some  one  discovers  that  the  water  of 
life  is  clearer  and  sweeter  from  the  spring  than 
in  a  cistern,  and  shows  the  grass-grown  path  to 
the  spring.  The  Mind  Ofthe  Master. 

* 

October  26 

WITHIN  the  heart  of  every  true  man  the 
intention  of  the  holy  ministry  is  asso- 
ciated with  romantic  dreams  and  hopes.  He 
does  not  expect  a  material  reward,  and  he  is  pre- 
pared for  hard  work.  He  is  willing  to  brave 
opposition  and  reproach  to  fulfil  God's  will; 
every  sacrifice  will  have  its  compensation  in 
those  moments  of  reverent  study  when  his  heart 
suddenly  burns  within  him  and  he  knows  Christ's 
presence  is  in  the  room,  in  hours  when  he  can 
see  the  soul  of  his  hearers  leap  into  their  faces 
in  response  to  the  Evangel,  in  days  spent  in 
carrying  the  Lord's  consolation  to  the  afflicted. 

The  Cure  of  Souls. 


October  27 

IT  is  the  prophet  who  has  roused  the  race 
from  ignoble  sleep,  has  fired  its  imagination 
with  lofty  ideals,  has  nerved  it  for  costly  sacri- 
fices, has  led  it  to  victory.  It  is  the  prophet, 
above  all,  who,  under  Christ,  has  laid  the  founda- 
tions of  the  Church  in  every  land,  has  restored 
her  after  periods  of  decay,  has  filled  her  with 
courage  and  hope.  He  is  the  teacher,  comforter, 
fosterer,  defender  of  his  brethren,  and  therefore 
the  chief  office  to  which  any  man  can  be  called 
is  to  declare  the  Will  of  God,  and  especially  the 
Evangel  of  Christ. 


October  28 

NE  o'  ma  wee  lassies,"  expatiated  Dom- 
sie,  "fell  comin'  doon  the  near  road  frae 
Whinnie  Knowe,  and  cuttit  her  cheek  on  the 
stones,  and  if  Lachlan  didna  wash  her  face  and 
comfort  her;  an'  mair,  he  carried  her  a'  the  road 
tae  the  schule,  and  says  he  in  his  Hieland  way, 
'  Here  iss  a  brave  little  woman  that  hass  hurt 
herself,  but  she  will  not  be  crying,'  and  he  gave 
her  a  kiss  and  a  penny  tae  buy  some  sweeties 
at  the  shop.  It  minded  me  o'  the  Gude  Samari- 
tan, fouks,"  and  everybody  understood  that 
Lachlan  had  captured  Domsie  for  life. 

Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier  Bush. 


October  29 

IT  was  Jesus  who  summoned  Love  to  meet 
the  severe  demands  of  Faith,  and  wedded 
for  the  first  time  the  ideas  of  Passion  and  Right- 
eousness. Hitherto  Righteousness  had  been 
spotless  and  admirable,  but  cold  as  ice ;  Passion 
had  been  sweet  and  strong,  but  unchastened  and 
wanton.  Jesus  suddenly  identifies  Righteous- 
ness with  Himself,  and  has  brought  it  to  pass 
that  no  man  can  love  Him  without  loving 
Righteousness.  Jesus  clothes  Himself  with 
the  commandments,  and  each  is  transfigured 
into  a  grace.  The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


October  30 

ONE  thing  the  minister  must  lay  to  his  heart 
and  impress  on  his  people,  and  that  is  the 
perfect  harmony  between  faith  and  criticism. 
Without  any  exception,  the  most  reliable  and 
brilliant  scholars  of  our  English-speaking  com- 
munions have  been,  or  are,  believing  and  devout 
men,  who  rejoice  to  turn  from  the  study  of  the 
literature  to  declare  the  Gospel  of  the  Bible. 
It  ought  also  to  be  pointed  out,  that  the  total 
results  of  criticism,  when  they  converge  upon  a 
point,  have  been,  not  to  obscure  or  belittle 
Christ,  but  rather  to  throw  Him  into  supreme 
relief  Whom  all  the  prophets  anticipated,  Whom 
the  apostles  declared.  Tht  Cure  of  Souls. 


October  31 

"TV  /TAN,  Chairlie,  it  did  me  gude  tae  hear 

IV J.  that  ye  hed  played  the  man  in  Ameriky, 
an'  that  ye  didna  forget  the  puir  laddies  o' 
Drumtochty.  Ay,  Jamie  telt  me  afore  he  dee'd, 
an'  prood  he  wes  aboot  ye.  '  Lily 's  gotten  her 
wish,'  he  said;  «a'  kent  she  wud.' 

"  He  wes  sure  ye  wud  veesit  the  auld  Glen 
some  day,  an'  wes  feared  there  wudna  be  a 
freend  tae  gie  ye  a  word.  Ye  wes  tae  slip  awa 
tae  Muirtown  the  nicht  withoot  a  word,  an* 
nane  o  's  tae  ken  ye  hed  been  here  ?  Na,  na, 
gin  there  be  a  cauld  hearth  in  yir  auld  hame, 
there's  a  warm  corner  in  ma  hoose  for  Lily's 
brither,"  and  so  they  went  home  together. 

When  they  arrived  Saunders  was  finishing 
the  last  stack,  and  broke  suddenly  into  speech. 

"Ye  thocht,  Drumsheugh,  we  would  never 
get  that  late  puckle  in,  but  here  it  is,  safe  and 
soond,  an'  a '11  warrant  it 'ill  buke  [bulk]  as 
weel  as  ony  in  the  threshin'." 

"  Ye 're  richt,  Saunders,  and  a  bonnie  stack 
it  maks;"  and  then  Charlie  Grant  went  in 
with  Drumsheugh  to  the  warmth  and  the 
kindly  light,  while  the  darkness  fell  upon  the 
empty  harvest -field,  from  which  the  last  sheaf 
had  been  safely  garnered. 

The  Days  of  Auld  Lang  Syne. 


November 

ANY  bookman  can  estimate  a  library  by 
scent — if  an  expert  he  could  even  write  out 
a  catalogue  of  the  books  and  sketch  the  appear- 
ance of  the  owner.  Heavy  odour  of  polished 
mahogany,  Brussels  carpets,  damask  curtains, 
and  table-cloths  $  then  the  books  are  kept  within 
glass,  consist  of  sets  of  standard  works  in  half 
calf,  and  the  owner  will  give  you  their  cost  whole- 
sale to  a  farthing.  Faint  fragrance  of  delicate 
flowers,  and  Russia  leather,  with  a  hint  of  cigar- 
ettes 5  prepare  yourself  for  a  marvellous  wall- 
paper, etchings,  bits  of  oak,  limited  editions,  and 
a  man  in  a  velvet  coat.  Smell  of  paste  and  cloth 
binding  and  general  newness  means  yesterday's 
books  and  a  man  racing  through  novels  with  a 
paper-knife.  Those  are  only  book-rooms  by 
courtesy,  and  never  can  satisfy  any  one  who  has 
breathed  the  sacred  air.  It  is  a  rich  and  strong 
spirit,  not  only  filling  the  room,  but  pouring  out 
from  the  door  and  possessing  the  hall,  redeeming 
an  opposite  dining-room  from  grossness,  and  a 
more  distant  drawing-room  from  frivolity,  and 
even  lending  a  goodly  flavour  to  bedrooms  on 
upper  floors.  It  is  distilled  from  curious  old  duo- 
decimos packed  on  high  shelves  out  of  sight,  and 
blows  over  folios,  with  large  clasps,  that  once  stood 
in  monastery  libraries,  and  gathers  a  subtle  sweet- 
ness from  parchments  that  were  illuminated  in  an- 
cient scriptoriums  that  are  nowgrass-grown,  and  is 
fortified  with  good  old  musty  calf. 


November  i 

IT  is  sufficient  that  a  church  should  be  noth- 
ing more  at  first  than  four  strong  walls  and 
a  sound  roof,  and  that  from  year  to  year  the 
people  that  have  been  blessed  therein  should 
give,  one  a  painted  window,  another  a  piece  of 
oak  carving,  a  third  a  Holy  Table,  a  fourth  a 
font,  till  the  church  house  be  filled  and  beauti- 
fied with  the  gifts  of  her  children,  and  it  is  for 
the  minister  to  insist  on  that  morality  which  is 
the  foundation  of  true  beauty,  and  to  move  his 
people  to  bestow  those  gifts  which  form  its 
Crown.  Tke  Cure  of  Souls. 

* 

November  2 

JESUS  addressed  Himself  to  the  unity  of 
moral  law  in  His  first  great  public  utterance, 
and  only  concluded  His  treatment  before  His 
arrest  in  the  garden.  His  Sermon  on  the  Mount 
was  a  luminous  and  comprehensive  investiga- 
tion of  the  ten  words  with  a  purpose  —  to  detect 
their  spiritual  source  and  organic  connection. 
It  was  the  analysis  of  a  code  in  order  to  identify 
the  principle.  It  was  the  experimental  search 
for  a  law,  conducted  with  every  circumstance 
of  spiritual  interest  before  a  select  audience  ;  it 
was  a  sustained  suggestion  by  a  score  of  illus- 
trations that  the  law  had  been  found. 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


November  3 

"  1\J  <"><"))  t^iere's  ma  kirk,  an'  we  rnaunna 
INI  forget  it,  for  a've  been  rael  happy 
there.  Ma  sittin'  wes  due  the  beginnin'  o'  the 
month,  and  a'  aye  gied  ten  shillin's  tae  the 
missions.  An',  Jamie,  they  were  speakin'  o' 
presentin*  the  minister  wi'  some  bit  token  o' 
respect  aifter  bein'  twenty-five  years  here.  Pit 
me  doon  for  a  poond  —  no'  ma  name,  ye  ken  ; 
that  wud  be  forward  :  juist  .  .  .  '  A  gratefu' 
servant-lass. ' *  Tfie  Days  0/Auld  Lang  Syne. 

* 

November  4 

NEXT  morning  Sir  Andrew  and  the  min- 
ister were  standing  by  Lily's  bedside,  and 
only  looked  at  him  when  he  joined  them. 

"  Jamie  .  .  .  thank  ye  a'  ...  ower  gude 
tae  ...  a  servant-lass  .  .  .  tell  them  ...  at 
hame." 

Each  man  bade  her  good-bye,  and  the  min- 
ister said  certain  words  which  shall  not  be 
written. 

"  Thae  .  .  .  weary  stairs,"  and  she  breathed 
heavily  for  a  time  ;  then,  with  a  sigh  of  relief, 
"  A  'm  comin'." 

"Lily  has  reached  the  .  .  .  landing,"  said 
Sir  Andrew,  and  as  they  went  downstairs  no 
man  would  have  looked  at  his  neighbour's  face 
for  a  ransom .  The  Days  0fAuid Lang  Syne, 


November  5 

WHEN  people  congratulate  themselves  be- 
cause a  sermon  has  been  clear,  it  really 
means  that  it  has  been  theological  ;  and  this 
may  be  true,  although  there  be  not  one  word 
of  theology  in  it  from  beginning  to  end.  The 
vine  hid  the  trellis-work.  The  Cure  of  Souls. 


November  6 

NO  one  has  yet  discovered  the  word  Jesus 
ought  not  to  have  said,  none  suggested 
the  better  word  He  might  have  said.  No  action 
of  His  has  shocked  our  moral  sense  ;  none  has 
fallen  short  of  the  ideal.  He  is  full  of  surprises, 
but  they  are  all  the  surprises  of  perfection.  You 
are  never  amazed,  one  day  by  His  greatness,  the 
next  by  His  littleness.  You  are  ever  amazed 
that  He  is  incomparably  better  than  you  could 
have  expected.  He  is  tender  without  being 
weak,  strong  without  being  coarse,  lowly  with- 
out being  servile.  He  has  conviction  without 
intolerance,  enthusiasm  without  fanaticism,  holi- 
ness without  Pharisaism,  passion  without  preju- 
dice. This  Man  alone  never  made  a  false  step, 
never  struck  a  jarring  note.  His  life  alone 
moved  on  those  high  levels  where  local  limita- 
tions are  transcended  and  the  absolute  Law  of 
Moral  Beauty  prevails.  It  was  life  at  its 
highest.  The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


November  7 

THE  very  church  has  a  hold  on  the  pious 
mind,  that  grows  with  the  years  and  lasts 
till  death  removes  the  man  to  the  upper  sanctu- 
ary. People  with  prosaic  minds  see  him  on 
Sunday  morning  passing  a  dozen  fashionable 
suburban  churches,  and  trudging  down  to  a 
dingy  place  in  the  city,  and  they  refer  it  to  his 
old-fashioned  ways  and  that  cat-spirit  which 
clings  to  a  building.  They  do  him  less  than 
justice  ;  they  have  too  little  imagination.  He 
has  his  own  reasons,  this  unsentimental,  matter- 
of-fact  man.  ^  The  Cure  of  Souls. 

'  November  8 

MOSES  said,  "  Do  this  or  do  that."  Jesus 
refrained  from  regulations  —  He  pro- 
posed that  we  should  love.  Jesus,  while  hardly 
mentioning  the  word,  planted  the  idea  in  His 
disciples'  minds,  that  Love  was  Law.  For  three 
years  He  exhibited  and  enforced  Love  as  the 
principle  of  life,  until,  before  He  died,  they 
understood  that  all  duty  to  God  and  man  was 
summed  up  in  Love.  Progress  in  the  moral 
world  is  ever  from  complexity  to  simplicity. 
First  one  hundred  duties  ;  afterwards  they  are 
gathered  into  ten  commandments  ;  then  they 
are  reduced  to  two  :  love  of  God  and  love  of 
man ;  and,  finally,  Jesus  says  His  last  word  : 
"  This  is  my  commandment,  that  ye  love  one 
another,  as  I  have  loved  you." 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


November  9 

FOR  one  to  be  a  Christian,  it  is  only  neces- 
sary that  he  be  loyal;  but  to  be  a  Chris- 
tian of  the  first  order,  he  must  be  mystical. 
Jesus  still  comes  to  us  in  our  outer  life,  and 
blessed  is  the  man  who  arises  and  follows  Him 
whithersoever  He  goes.  Jesus  still  comes  to  the 
door  of  the  soul,  and  that  man  is  most  blessed 
who  receives  the  Lord  into  his  guest-chamber. 

The  Upper  Room. 

A  COURSE  of  sermons  on  the  metaphysics 
of  faith,  followed  by  another  on  the  phil- 
osophy of  prayer,  will  go  far  to  make  infidels 
of  a  congregation.  One  wants  his  drinking- 
water  taken  through  a  filter-bed,  but  greatly 
objects  to  gravel  in  his  glass.  Tke  Cure  ofSouh. 


November  10 

"  "\  7E  'LL  no'  be  angry,  but  a'  telt  Marget 
JL  Hoo  ae  day  aboot  oor  tribble  an'  ma 
houp  o'  Chairlie  —  for  ye  canna  look  at  Marget 
an'  no'  want  tae  unburden  yersel'  —  an'  she 
said,  '  Dinna  be  ashamed  o'  yir  dreams,  Lily  ; 
they'll  a'  come  true  some  day,  for  we  canna 
think  better  than  God  wull  dae.'  ' 

"  Marget  Hoo  is  nearer  the  hert  o'  things 
thanonybody  in  the  Glen,  an'  a'm  prayin'  she 
may  be  richt.  Get  the  bukes  ;  it's  time  for 
oor  readin'."  The  Days  of  Auld Lang  Syne. 


November  1 1 

THE  passion  for  Jesus  has  no  analogy  in 
comparative  religion  ;  it  has  no  parallel  in 
human  experience.  It  is  a  flame  of  unique 
purity  and  intensity.  Thomas  does  not  believe 
that  Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God,  or  that,  more  than 
any  other  man,  He  can  escape  the  hatred  of 
fanaticism  ;  but  he  must  share  the  fate  of  Jesus. 
"Let  us  also  go,"  said  this  morbid  sceptic, 
"  that  we  may  die  with  Him."  At  the  sight 
of  His  face  seven  devils  went  out  of  Mary  Mag- 
dalene ;  for  the  blessing  of  His  visit,  a  chief 
publican  gave  half  his  goods  to  the  poor. 
When  a  man  of  the  highest  order  met  Jesus  he 
was  lifted  into  the  heavenly  places  and  became 
a  Christed  man,  whose  eyes  saw  with  the  vision 
of  Christ,  whose  pulse  beat  with  the  heart  of 
Christ.  The  Mind  of  the  Master. 

* 

November  12 

IT  is  a  pleasant  occupation  to  watch  the  clouds 
wreathing  themselves  around  a  mountain, 
and  one  catches  lovely  glimpses  when  the  sun 
shines  through  the  mist.  But  billowy  masses 
of  words,  with  an  occasional  exquisite  revela- 
tion, is  not  profitable  preaching,  and,  at  its  best, 
it  can  never  hold  the  people  who  are  not  es- 
pecially poetical,  but  have  a  passionate  desire 
to  know  what  the  speaker  means. 

The  Cure  of  Souls. 


November  13 

HPHURSDAY  opens  well,  and  the  minister 
JL  begins  to  work  for  Sunday,  when  a  visitor 
conies,  and  then  a  crowd  —  a  young  lady  who 
is  anxious  to  be  a  nurse  5  a  young  man  (who 
was  once  at  the  young  men's  sermon)  to  get  a 
testimonial  for  a  situation  ;  a  member  of  the 
church  with  no  business,  who  wished  to  intro- 
duce a  country  friend  ;  the  travelling  secretary 
of  some  third-rate  society,  whose  time  is  paid  ; 
an  elderly  person  who  got  good  from  one  of  the 
minister's  sermons  in  a  strange  church,  and 
borrows  five  shillings.  The  Cure  of  Souls. 


November  14 

"  T  T  TELL,  ye  see  he  's  terrible  prood  o'  his 
V  V      feenishes,  and  this  is    ane  o'  them  : 

"  «  Heaven,  ma  brethren,  will  be  far  grander 
than  the  hoose  o'  ony  earthly  potentate,  for  there 
ye  will  no  longer  eat  the  flesh  of  bulls  nor  drink 
the  blood  o'  goats,  but  we  shall  sook  the  juicy 
pear  and  scoop  the  loocious  meelon.  Amen.' 

"  He  hes  nae  mair  sense  o'  humour  than  an 
owl,  and  a'  aye  haud  that  a  man  withoot 
humour  sudna  be  allowed  intae  a  poopit. 

"  A'  hear  that  they  have  nae  examination  in 
humour  at  the  college  ;  it  's  an  awfu'  want,  for 
it  wud  keep  oot  mony  a  dreich  body." 

Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier  Busk. 


November  15 

"  «  \  \  7HATNA  place  is  this,  George  ? '  an' 
V  V  he  taks  aff  the  cover  an'  hauds  up 
the  picture.  It  wud  hae  dune  ye  gude  tae  hae 
seen  the  licht  in  the  laddie's  een.  'Athens,' 
he  cried,  an'  then  he  reached  oot  his  white  hand 
tae  Drumsheugh,  but  naething  wes  said. 

"  They  were  at  it  the  hale  forenoon,  Geordie 
showin'  the  Temple  the  Greeks  set  up  tae 
Wisdom,  an'  the  theatre  in  the  shadow  of  the 
hill  whar  the  Greek  prophets  preached  their 
sermons  ;  an'  as  a'  gaed  oot  an'  in,  Geordie 
wud  read  a  bonnie  bit,  and  Domsie  himsel' 
cudna  hae  been  mair  interested  than  Drum- 
sheugh. The  deein'  scholar  an'  the  auld 
fairmer.  ..."  The  Days  of  Avid  Lang  Syne. 

* 

November  16 

HPHOSE  mornings  given  to  Plato,  that  visit  to 
-L  Florence  where  he  got  an  insight  into 
Italian  art,  that  hard-won  trip  to  Egypt  the 
birthplace  of  civilisation,  his  sustained  acquaint- 
ance with  Virgil,  his  by-study  of  physical 
science,  his  taste  in  music,  the  subtlest  and 
most  religious  of  the  arts,  all  now  rally  to  his 
aid.  Greek  philosophy  clarifies  the  thinking, 
Andrea  Del  Sarto  illustrates  it  ;  a  poet  suggests 
a  musical  line  ;  Faraday  points  out  a  parallel 
between  the  worlds  of  nature  and  spirit. 

The  Cure  of  Souls. 


November  17 

WHOSOEVER  holds  the  pastoral  office 
must  learn  to  keep  secrets,  and  must  be 
on  his  guard  against  careless  speech.  What  he 
has  to  fear  is  not  dishonour  through  wilful  breach 
of  trust,  but  mere  leakiness.  The  pastor  does 
not  consider  his  own  wife  a  privileged  person 
in  this  matter,  for  though  she  might  be  the  most 
prudent  and  reticent  of  women,  yet  it  would 
embarrass  his  people  to  know  that  their  secrets 
were  shared  with  her.  The  high  honour  of 
doctors,  who  carry  in  their  breasts  so  many 
social  tragedies,  is  an  example  to  be  followed 
by  the  clerical  profession.  The  Cure  of  Souk. 

*> 

November  18 

T  ESUS  had  to  contend  with  a  more  inexcus- 
J  able  misuse  which  binds  up  the  life  of  a 
man,  not  with  his  body,  but  with  his  material 
environment.  According  to  this  squalid  defi- 
nition, Life  is  made  up  of  circumstances ;  if 
they  are  pleasant,  the  man  has  an  easy  life  ; 
if  they  are  adverse,  he  has  a  hard  life.  Life  is 
stated  in  terms  of  food  and  raiment,  and  goods 
and  houses.  Against  this  degradation  of  life 
Jesus  lifted  up  His  voice  in  a  protest  which  ad- 
mits of  no  answer.  He  was  never  weary  of  re- 
minding His  disciples  that  such  things  could  not 
constitute  Life,  and  were,  indeed,  so  unworthy 
as  to  be  beneath  care.  The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


November  19 

IF  anything  could  rouse  a  sluggard  and  move 
him  to  play  the  man,  it  would  be  his  wife's 
faith  in  him.  All  over  the  world,  within  and 
without  the  ministry,  hard-working  and  self- 
sacrificing  women  are  covering  useless  vaga- 
bonds and  apologising  for  their  faults,  and 
assigning  them  to  ill-health,  and  prophesying 
the  great  things  they  will  yet  do.  God  grant 
the  man  may  do  something  for  that  woman's 
sake-  The  Cure  of  Souls. 

* 

November  20 

NO  teacher  ever  gave  such  pledges  of  divine 
authority  as  Jesus ;  no  people  could  have 
been  better  prepared  for  His  Evangel  than  the 
Jews.  They  had  been  set  apart  as  in  a  cloister 
that  they  might  hear  the  Divine  voice,  and  a 
succession  of  prophets  had  come  from  the  pres- 
ence of  God  to  declare  the  Divine  Will.  A 
nation  had  been  trained  in  the  hope  of  the  Mes- 
siah to  wait  for  the  dayspring  from  on  high  and 
the  fulness  of  God's  kingdom.  It  might  have 
been  expected  that  this  well-tilled  field  would 
have  been  open  soil  for  Jesus'  words,  and  one 
dares  to  believe  that  there  might  have  been  an 
auspicious  seedtime  had  the  Jews  passed,  say, 
from  Isaiah  to  Jesus,  or  had  Jesus  come  while 
the  glow  of  Daniel's  visions  was  still  fresh. 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


November  21 


"  \  7E  mind  the  bit  lassiky  " —  MacLure  would 

X  tell  all  when  he  was  at  it — "that  lived 
wi'  Mary  Robertson,  and  Jamie  Soutar  made 
sic  a  wark  aboot,  for  her  mither  wes  deid ;  she 
wes  chokin'  wi'  her  tribble,  an'  a'  took  her  on 
ma  knee,  for  Daisy  and  me  were  aye  chief. 

"  *  Am  a'  gaein'  tae  dee  the  day  ? '  she  said, 
an  a'  cudna  tell  a  lee  lookin'  intae  yon  een. 

"  '  Ye 're  no'  feared,  dautie,'  a'  said  5  'ye'll 
sune  be  hame.' 

"  «  Haud  me  ticht,  then,  Docksie  '  —  that 
wes  her  name  for  me  —  'an'  mither  'ill  tak  me 
oot  o'  yir  airms.'  .  .  .  The  Almichty  wud 
see  the  wee  lassie  wesna  pit  tae  shame,  or  else 
.  .  .  that's  no  His  name." 

The  Days  of  A  uld  Lang  Syne. 
* 

November  22 

"  \7OU  an'  me  are  no'  like  Burnbrae  and 
JL     the  bairnie,    Weelum ;    a'm   feared  at 
times  aboot  .   .    .   the  hame-comin'." 

"  A'  dinna  wunner,  Dnimsheugh,  a  'm  often 
the  same  masel';  we're  baith  truant  laddies, 
and  maybe  we'll  get  oor  paiks,  an'  it  'ill  dae 
us  gude.  But  be  that  as  it  may,  we  maun  juist 
risk  it,  an'  a  'm  houpin'  the  Almichty  'ill  no  be 
waur  tae  us  than  oor  mither  when  the  sun  gaes 
doon  and  the  nicht  wind  sweeps  ower  the  hill." 
The  Days  of  A  uld  Lang  Sync. 


November  23 

A  HUNDRED  thousand  faces  pass  before 
your  eyes  and  are  forgotten,  mere  physical 
impressions;  you  see  one,  and  it  is  in  your  heart 
for  ever,  as  you  saw  it  the  first  time.  Wavy 
black  hair,  a  low,  straight  forehead,  hazel  eyes 
with  long  eyelashes,  a  perfectly-shaped  Grecian 
nose,  a  strong  mouth  whose  upper  lip  had  a 
curve  of  softness,  a  clear-cut  chin  with  one  dim- 
ple, small  ears  set  high  in  the  head,  and  a  rich 
creamy  complexion  —  that  was  what  flashed 
upon  Carmichael.  Kate  Carnegie. 

V- 

November  24 

*^pHEY  helped  Milton  out  of  bed  next  Thurs- 
JL  day,  and  he  sat  in  silence  at  a  gable  win- 
dow that  commanded  the  bare  fields.  Twenty 
ploughs  were  cutting  the  stubble  into  brown 
ridges,  and  the  crows  followed  the  men  as  they 
guided  the  shares  with  stiff  resisting  body,  while 
Drumsheugh  could  be  seen  going  from  field  to 
field  with  authority. 

"What's  this  for?"  inquired  Milton  at 
length;  "  naebody  askit  them,  an'  .  .  .  them 
an'  me  hevna  been  pack  [friendly]  thae  laist 
twa  years." 

"  It 's  a  love-darg,"  said  his  wife;  "because 
ye've  been  sober  [ill],  they  juist  want  to  show 
kindness,  bein'  oor  neeburs." 

The  Days  of  Auld  Lang  Syne. 


November  25 

"  T^\ID  ye  never  want  tae  .   .   .   tell  her?" 
\-J    and   the    doctor   looked    curiously   at 
Drumsheugh. 

"  Juist  aince,  Weelum,  in  her  gairden,  an' 
the  day  Geordie  dee'd.  Marget  thankit  me  for 
the  college  fees  and  bit  expenses  a'  hed  paid. 
*  A  faither  cudna  hae  been  kinder  tae  ma  lad- 
die,' she  said,  an'  she  laid  her  hand  on  ma 
airm.  «  Ye  're  a  gude  man,  a'  see  it  clear  this 
day,  an'  .  .  .  ma  hert  is  ...  warm  tae  ye.' 
A'  ran  oot  o'  the  gairden.  A'  micht  hae 
broken  doon.  Oh,  gin  Geordie  hed  been  ma 
ain  laddie,  an'  Marget  .  .  .  ma  wife  !" 

The  Days  of  A  uld  Lang  Syne. 

* 

November  26 

A  CCORDING  to  the  mind  of  Jesus,  the 
£\.  foresight  which  prepares  one  for  the  future 
life  is  a  certain  attitude  of  soul.  No  person,  it 
may  be  assumed,  would  refuse  the  reversion  of 
a  blessed  future,  with  its  high  hopes  of  the  free- 
dom of  holiness  and  the  unfettered  service  of  the 
Divine  Will,  but  many  persons  are  not  minded 
to  subordinate  to  its  unseen  excellence  the  solid 
possession  of  the  present.  They  have  made 
themselves  so  absolutely  at  home  among  the 
principles  and  rewards  of  a  material  world  that 
they  would  be  out  of  place  amid  the  very  differ- 
ent conditions  and  occupations  of  a  spiritual 
world.  It  is  this  unfitness  that  will  deny  them 
a  habitation.  Tlie  Mind  of  the  Master. 


November  27 

NO  photograph  quite  represents  the  face  that 
was  taken, or  leaves  the  studio  untouched. 
Certain  lines  have  to  be  modified,  certain  blots 
to  be  removed.  It  will  be  a  very  gracious  ser- 
mon that  needs  no  retouching.  Line  by  line 
the  sermon  has  to  be  read  over  with  the  faces 
of  his  congregation  before  him,  so  that  the 
minister  may  hear  how  it  sounds  in  the  living 
environment.  Many  things  are  incisive  and 
telling,  clever  and  sparkling,  on  paper,  which 
we  feel  will  not  do  face  to  face.  They  are  now 
too  telling,  too  clever.  The  Cure  0fSouU. 

& 

November  28 

JESUS  and  His  disciples  share  the  same  Life. 
He  is  the  "  Bread  of  Life,"  and  they  "eat." 
Jesus  with  this  startling  image  flashes  a  descrip- 
tion of  Life  and  answers  the  question,  ever  in  the 
background  of  one's  mind,  "What  is  Life  ?" 
It  is  fellowship  with  the  Spirit  of  Jesus,  some- 
thing that  cannot  be  estimated  by  the  beating 
of  the  pulse,  or  the  inventory  of  a  man's  posses- 
sions, that  must  be  tested  by  conscience  and  the 
intangible  scales  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven. 
It  will  lie  in  a  certain  mind,  in  a  certain  ruling 
motive,  in  a  certain  trend  of  character,  in  a  cer- 
tain obedience  of  will,  in  a  certain  passion  for 
goodness,  the  same  as  that  of  Jesus. 

The  Mindoftlie  Master. 


November  29 

"A  *    never   dreamed  o'   this,  an'  a  'm   no' 
xV.  worthy  o'  sic  love,  whereof  I  hev  hed 
much  fruit  an'  ye  hev  only  pain." 

"  Ye  're  wrang,  Marget,  for  the  joy  hes  gaen 
ower  the  pain,  an'  a've  hed  the  greater  gain. 
Love  roosed  me  tae  wark  an'  fecht,  wha  micht 
hae  been  a  ne'er-dae-weel.  Love  savit  me  frae 
greed  o'  siller  an'  a  hard  hert.  Love  kept  me 
clean  in  thocht  an'  deed,  for  it  was  ever  Marget 
by  nicht  an'  day.  If  a  'm  a  man  the  day,  ye 
did  it,  though  ye  micht  never  hae  kent  it.  It 's 
little  a'  did  for  ye,  but  ye  've  dune  a' thing  for 
me  .  .  .  Marget." 

After  a  moment  he  went  on  — 

"  Twenty  year  ago  a'  cudna  hae  spoken  wi' 
ye  safely,  nor  taken  yir  man's  hand  withoot  a 
grudge;  but  there's  nae  sin  in  ma  love  this 
day,  an'  a'  wudna  be  ashamed  though  yir  man 
heard  me  say,  '  A'  love  ye,  Marget.'  ' 

The  Days  of  A  uld  Lang  Syne. 
* 

November  30 

IT  happens  sometimes  that  a  sermon  fails  be- 
cause although  the  carving  is  excellent  the 
wood  is  worthless,  but  just  as  often  because, 
although  the  wood  be  richly  grained,  the  artist 
has  scamped  his  labour.  A  noble  and  inspir- 
ing idea  is  only  a  promise  of  success,  and  the 
issue  hangs  on  skill  and  patience. 

The  Cure  of  Smth. 


December 

WINTER  has  certain  mornings  which  re- 
deem weeks  of  misconduct,  when  the 
hoar  frost  during  the  night  has  re-silvered  every 
branch  and  braced  the  snow  upon  the  ground, 
and  the  sun  rises  in  ruddy  strength  and  drives 
out  of  sight  every  cloud  and  mist,  and  moves 
all  day  through  an  expanse  of  unbroken  blue, 
and  is  reflected  from  the  dazzling  whiteness  of 
the  earth  as  from  a  mirror.  Such  a  sight  calls 
a  man  from  sleep  with  authority,  and  makes 
his  blood  tingle,  and  puts  new  heart  in  him, 
and  banishes  the  troubles  of  the  night.  Other 
mornings  Winter  joins  in  the  conspiracy  of 
principalities  and  powers  to  daunt  and  crush  the 
human  soul.  No  sun  is  to  be  seen,  and  the 
grey  atmosphere  casts  down  the  heart,  the  wind 
moans  and  whistles  in  fitful  gusts,  the  black 
clouds  hang  low  in  threatening  masses,  now 
and  again  a  flake  of  snow  drifts  in  the  wind. 
A  storm  is  near  at  hand,  not  the  thunder- 
shower  of  summer,  with  warm  rain  and  the 
kindly  sun  in  ambush,  but  dark  and  blinding 
snow,  through  which  even  a  gamekeeper  cannot 
see  six  yards,  and  in  which  weary  travellers  lie 
down  to  rest  and  die.  K^  Carnegie. 


December  i 

/'"CERTAIN  churches,  owing  to  high  posi- 
V_^  tion  and  ancient  descent,  may  think  too 
mightily  of  themselves,  and  this  came  to  my 
mind  once  when  the  beadle  of  a  church  in 
my  own  communion  inquired  of  me  where  I 
was  settled,  and  whether  I  was  actually  ordained, 
preparing  me  for  a  thin  audience,  as  the  Doctor 
was  known  to  be  from  home,  but  cheering  me 
before  next  service  with  the  information  that 
a  fair  number  of  people  had  returned  —  a  cir- 
cumstance at  which  he  could  not  conceal  his 
astonishment.  The  Cure  of  Souls. 

* 

December  2 

IT  VERY  reader  of  the  Gospels  has  marked 
1  ./  the  sympathy  of  Jesus  with  children. 
How  He  watched  their  games  !  How  angry 
He  was  with  His  disciples  for  belittling  them  ! 
How  He  used  to  warn  men,  whatever  they  did, 
never  to  hurt  a  little  child!  How  grateful  were 
children's  praises  when  all  others  had  turned 
against  Him !  One  is  apt  to  admire  the  beauti- 
ful sentiment,  and  to  forget  that  children  were 
more  to  Jesus  than  helpless  gentle  creatures  to 
be  loved  and  protected.  They  were  His  chief 
parable  of  the  Kingdom  of  heaven.  As  a  type 
of  character  the  Kingdom  was  like  unto  a  little 
child,  and  the  greatest  in  the  Kingdom  would 
be  the  most  child-like.  The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


December  3 

/""^RITICISM  has  sinned   through  unchari- 

V tableness ;  for  some  of  the  pioneers  of  the 

new  school  have  forgotten  good  manners,  and 
have  not  carried  themselves  respectfully  to  the 
past.  While  a  discoverer  in  physics  is  ever  grate- 
ful for  the  work  done  by  his  predecessors,  and 
corrects  their  mistakes  with  humility,  recognis- 
ing that  he  stands  on  their  shoulders,  and  that 
his  results  will  also  one  day  be  revised,  the 
biblical  critic  has  been  inclined  to  treat  the  old 
scholarship  with  unconcealed  contempt,  and  to 
expose  its  errors  with  malignant  satisfaction. 

The  Cure  of  Souls. 


December  4 

T)ROGRESS  by  suffering  is  one  of  Jesus' 
±  most  characteristic  ideas,  and,  like  every 
other,  is  embodied  in  the  economy  of  human 
nature  and  confirmed  by  the  sweep  of  human 
history.  The  Cross  marks  every  departure: 
the  Cross  is  the  condition  of  every  achieve- 
ment. Modern  Europe  has  emerged  from  the 
Middle  Ages,  Christianity  from  Judaism,  Juda- 
ism from  Egypt,  Egypt  from  barbarism,  with 
throes  of  agony.  Humanity  has  fought  its  way 
upwards  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  torn  and 
bleeding,  yet  hopeful  and  triumphant. 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


December  5 

A   SERMON  is  more  than  a  cunning  crea- 
tion ;  it  is  an   inspiration,  not  so  much 
dead  stuff  laboriously  fitted  together,  but  a  tree 
whose  leaf  is  green,  which  yieldeth  its  fruit  in 
due  season.  The  Cure  0fSouk. 

ALAS  !  he  need  not  take  such  care,  for  the 
walk  was  now  as  the  border  with  grass,  and 
the  gate  was  lying  open,  and  the  dead  house 
stared  at  him  with  open,  unconscious  eyes,  and 
knew  him  not.  Kate  Carnegie. 

* 

December  6 

"  "\T  7  HAT  'ill  become  o's  when  ye 're  no 

V  V  here  tae  gie  a'  hand  in  time  o'  need  ? 
we  '  ill  take  ill  wi'  a  stranger  that  disna  ken  ane 
o's  frae  anither." 

"  It  'sa'  for  the  best,  Paitrick,  an'  ye  'ill  see 
that  in  a  whilie.  A  've  kent  fine  that  ma  day 
wes  ower,  an'  that  ye  sud  hae  a  younger  man. 

"  A'  did  what  a'  cud  tae  keep  up  wi'  the 
new  medicine,  but  a'  hed  little  time  for  readin', 
an'  nane  for  traivellin' . 

44  A  'm  the  last  o'  the  auld  schule,  an*  a' 
ken  as  weel  as  onybody  thet  a'  wesna  sae  dainty 
an'  fine-mannered  as  the  town  doctors.  Ye 
took  me  as  a'  wes,  an'  naebody  ever  cuist  up 
tae  me  that  a*  wes  a  plain  man.  Na,  na  ; 
ye've  been  rael  kind  an'  conseederate  a'  thae 
years. "  The  Days  of  Auld  Lang:  Syne. 


December  7 

FOR  the  innocent  gaiety  and  lighter  follies 
of  youth  the  pastor  has  a  vast  toleration, 
for  the  sudden  disasters  of  manhood  an  unfail- 
ing charity,  for  the  unredeemed  tragedies  of  age 
a  great  sorrow.  It  is  a  hard  fight  for  every 
one,  and  it  is  not  his  to  judge  or  condemn  $ 
his  it  is  to  understand,  to  help,  to  comfort  — 
for  these  people  are  his  children,  his  pupils,  his 
patients  ;  they  are  the  sheep  Christ  has  given 
him,  for  whom  Christ  died.  ?vk  cure  of  Souls. 

* 

December  8 

\  CCORDING  to  Jesus,  a  well-conditioned 
J~\  child  illustrates  better  than  anything  else 
on  earth  the  distinctive  features  of  Christian 
character.  Because  he  does  not  assert  nor  ag- 
grandise himself.  Because  he  has  no  memory 
for  injuries,  and  no  room  in  his  heart  for  a 
grudge.  Because  he  has  no  previous  opinions, 
and  is  not  ashamed  to  confess  his  ignorance. 
Because  he  can  imagine,  and  has  the  key  of 
another  world,  entering  in  through  the  ivory 
gate  and  living  amid  the  things  unseen  and 
eternal.  The  new  society  of  Jesus  was  a 
magnificent  imagination,  and  he  who  entered 
it  must  lay  aside  the  world  standards  and  ideals 
of  character,  and  become  as  a  little  child. 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


December  9 

"  T  PRAYED  that  the  message  sent  through 
JL  me  to  your  flock,  John,  might  be  love.  It 
hath  pleased  the  Great  Shepherd  that  I  should 
lead  the  sheep  by  strange  paths,  but  I  desired 
that  it  be  otherwise  when  I  came  for  the  first 
time  to  Drumtochty. 

"  Two  days  did  I  spend  in  the  woods,  for  the 
stillness  of  winter  among  the  trees  leaveth  the 
mind  disengaged  for  the  Divine  word,  and 
the  first  day  my  soul  was  heavy  as  I  returned, 
for  this  only  was  laid  upon  me,  '  vessels  of  wrath, 
fitted  to  destruction  '  '  Kate  Carnegie 


December  10 

EXT  day  the  sun  was  shining  pleasantly 
in  the  wood,  and  it  came  to  me  that 
clouds  had  gone  from  the  face  of  God,  and  as 
I  wandered  among  the  trees  a  squirrel  sat  on  a 
branch  within  reach  of  my  hand  and  did  not 
flee.  Then  I  heard  a  voice,  '  I  have  loved 
thee  with  an  everlasting  love,  therefore  with 
loving-kindness  have  I  drawn  thee.' 

"  It  was,  in  an  instant,  my  hope  that  this 
might  be  God's  word  by  me,  but  I  knew  not 
it  was  so  till  the  Evangel  opened  up  on  all  sides, 
and  I  was  led  into  the  outgoings  of  the  eternal 
love  after  so  moving  a  fashion  that  I  dared  to 
think  that  grace  might  be  effectual  even  with 

me    ...    with  me."  Kate  Carnegie. 


December  il 

/CONGREGATIONAL  patriotism  demands 
v_x  that,  whatever  differences  of  opinion  the 
minister  may  have  with  his  people,  or  whatever 
fatherly  rebukes  he  may  feel  it  his  duty  to  give 
them,  he  should  neither  say  one  word  against 
them  outside,  nor  allow  any  reflection  to  be 
made  upon  them  by  a  stranger.  No  man  ex- 
poses his  wife's  faults,  and  no  one  dares  criticise 
a  wife  to  her  husband  ;  and  people  and  minister 
are  united  in  a  sacred  bond,  sharing  a  common 
love  and  reputation.  And  the  same  Church 
feeling  should  keep  the  people  true  to  their 
minister.  The  Cure  of  Souls. 


December  12 

ALL  Our  life  from  infancy  to  age  we  are  in 
the  school  of  love,  and  never  does  human 
nature  so  completely  shed  the  slough  of  selfish- 
ness, or  wear  so  generous  a  guise,  or  offer  such 
ungrudging  service  as  when  under  this  sway. 
Here  is  stored  to  hand  the  latent  dynamic  for  a 
spiritual  enterprise;  it  only  remains  to  make  the 
connection.  Do  you  wish  a  cause  to  endure 
hardness,  to  rejoice  in  sacrifice,  to  accomplish 
mighty  works,  to  retain  for  ever  the  dew  of  its 
youth  ?  Give  it  the  best  chance,  the  sanction 
of  Love.  The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


December  13 

ALL  machinery,  however  well  conceived  and 
enthusiastically  worked,  will  be  unblessed 
and  useless  unless  the  Church  have  spiritual 
aims,  and  be  touched  with  heavenliness,  unless 
she  be  cleansed  from  false  ideals  and  a  worldly 
spirit.  The  Cure  ofSoult. 


December  14 

WHAT  has  to  be  laid  down  in  the  strong- 
est terms  and  held  in  perpetual  remem- 
brance is  that  Jesus  gave  in  substance  final 
truth,  and  that  no  one,  apostle  or  saint,  could 
or  did  add  anything  to  the  original  deposit, 
however  much  he  might  expound  or  enforce  it. 
This  is  the  only  position  which  secures  a  con- 
sistent and  authoritative  standard  by  which 
later  teaching  can  be  judged,  and,  apart  from 
Jesus'  own  words,  it  is  established  by  two 
arguments.  One  is  probability  or  the  fitness 
of  things.  Is  it  likely  that  Jesus,  who  came 
to  declare  the  Divine  Will  and  reveal  the 
Father,  would  leave  any  truth  of  the  first 
magnitude  to  be  told  by  His  servants  ?  It  is 
to  be  expected  that  prophets  should  anticipate 
Jesus'  Gospel  and  that  apostles  should  apply 
it ;  but  it  were  amazing  if  either  should  sup- 
plement Jesus.  The  Mindofthe  Master. 


December  15 

THE  kingdom  of  God  can  only  rule  over 
willing  hearts  ;  it  has  no  helots  within  its 
borders.  It  advances  by  individual  conversion, 
it  stands  in  individual  consecration.  Laws  can 
do  but  little  for  this  cause  $  the  sword  less  than 
nothing.  The  kingdom  will  come  in  a  land 
when  it  has  come  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  — 
neither  sooner  nor  later.  The  Mind  of  the  Master. 

* 

December  16 

"  "\7OU  hef  done  a  beautiful  deed  this  day, 
JL  Maister  Carmichael  j  and  the  grace  of 
God  must  hef  been  exceeding  abundant  in  your 
heart.  It  iss  this  man  that  asks  your  forgive- 
ness, for  I  wass  full  of  pride,  and  did  not  speak 
to  you  as  an  old  man  should;  but  God  iss  my 
witness  that  I  would  hef  plucked  out  my  right 
eye  for  your  sake.  You  will  say  every  word 
God  gives  you,  and  I  will  take  as  much  as  God 
gives  me,  and  there  will  be  a  covenant  between 
us  as  long  as  we  live." 

They  knelt  together  on  the  earthen  floor  of 
that  Highland  cottage,  the  old  school  and  the 
new,  before  one  Lord,  and  the  only  difference 
in  their  prayers  was  that  the  young  man  prayed 
they  might  keep  the  faith  once  delivered  unto 
the  saints,  while  the  burden  of  the  old  man's 
prayer  was  that  they  might  be  led  into  all 

truth.  Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier  Bush, 


December  17 

HE  was  married  in  that  church,  and  there 
he  offered  his  children  to  God.  During 
his  great  trial  it  was  the  word  he  heard  in  that 
church  which  sustained  him,  and  down  its  aisles 
he  has  carried  the  holy  vessels  of  the  Sacrament 
for  thirty  years.  He  is  poor  who  has  no  sacred 
places  on  earth,  and  this  is  to  the  man  as  the 
gate  of  heaven.  Tke  Cure  of  Souls. 


December  18 

WHEN  Jesus  explained  that  He  had  kept 
nothing  back,  and  yet  had  much  more 
to  give,  He  was  not  contradicting  Himself,  but 
only  distinguishing  between  the  substance  and 
the  development  of  truth.  One  might  say  with 
perfect  accuracy  that  a  seed  contains  the  plant 
—  stem,  ears  and  full  com  —  and  that  when 
one  gives  the  seed  he  gives  all.  Yet  this  is  not 
the  denial  of  the  spring,  and  the  summer,  and 
the  autumn  time.  After  the  same  fashion  it 
may  be  truly  said  that  if  any  speaker  should 
sow  a  living  idea  in  the  mind  of  a  receptive 
hearer,  and  that  idea  were  afterwards  cast  into 
various  forms  and  carried  into  great  actions, 
both  words  and  deeds  ought  to  be  assigned  to 
the  original  giver.  The  germ  has  the  potency, 
it  has  also  the  very  shape  of  all  the  coming 
life-  The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


December  19 

SOME  have  not  been  content  to  hold  Jesus 
anywhere  save  in  the  room  which  is 
nearest  to  the  sky,  which  has  windows  to  the 
grey  east  and  the  golden  west,  and  all  day  long 
is  full  of  warm  light  ;  and  when  Jesus,  wearied 
after  many  fruitless  journeys,  is  brought  within 
the  door,  He  is  satisfied,  as  one  who  has  come 
home.  This  is  sometimes  called  St.  John's 
room,  because  he  wrote  pleasantly  about  it  and 
the  things  he  had  seen  from  its  windows  ;  and 
no  one  will  gainsay  that  it  is  the  Upper  Room. 
For  work  is  good,  and  righteousness  is  good, 
and  knowledge  is  good,  but  best  of  all  is  love. 
And  all  the  other  rooms  in  the  soul  are  gathered 
under  love.  Be  sure  he  will  not  fail  in  sacri- 
fice who  loves  the  Lord  ;  his  conscience  will 
be  tender  that  is  bathed  in  love,  and  no  one 
can  know  deep  mysteries  who  does  not  love. 
Love  is  Jesus'  chosen  guest-chamber,  and  he 
that  has  Jesus  for  a  guest  has  power,  and  good- 
ness, and  truth,  and  God.  fhe  Upper  Room 
* 

December  20 

NO  one  can  hope  to  teach  religion,  in  even 
its  simplest  form,  with  permanent  success, 
without  a  competent  knowledge  of  theology, 
any  more  than  a  physician  can  practise  medi- 
cine without  a  knowledge  of  physiology,  or  an 
engineer  build  a  bridge  who  has  not  learned 
mathematics.  The  Cure  of  Smth. 


December  21 

NOTHING  is  easier  than  to  create  a  reli- 
gion ;  one  only  needs  self-confidence  and 
foolscap  paper.  An  able  Frenchman  sat  down 
in  his  study  and  produced  Positivism,  which 
some  one  pleasantly  described  as  Catholicism 
minus  Christianity.  It  stimulated  conversation 
in  superior  circles  for  years,  and  only  yesterday 
Mr.  Frederic  Harrison  was  explaining  to  Pro- 
fessor Huxley  that  this  ingenious  invention  of 
M.  Comte  ought  to  be  taken  seriously. 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


December  22 

ONE  of  the  most  suggestive  pictures  of 
Italian  Art  represents  the  meeting  of  St. 
Dominic  and  St.  Francis.  St.  Dominic  belonged 
to  that  order  which  was  charged  with  the 
development  and  conservation  of  doctrine,  and 
who,  on  account  of  their  theological  bitterness 
and  often  unreasoning  persecution,  were  called 
the  "  hounds  of  the  Lord."  St.  Francis,  as  a 
great  French  critic  declared,  was  the  most 
beautiful  Christian  character  since  the  days  of 
Jesus,  and  it  was  he  who  revived  religion.  In 
this  picture  St.  Dominic,  the  author  and  de- 
fender of  dogma,  and  St.  Francis,  the  humble 
disciple  and  exemplifier  of  Jesus  Christ,  have 
met,  and,  flinging  their  arms  round  one  an- 
other's necks,  they  kiss  each  other. 

The  Cure  of  Souls. 


December  23 

,  gin  the  woman  leaves  the  man 
an'  passes  intae  the  ither  warld,  is  she 
deid,  think  ye,  neeburs,  an1  is  she  no'  his  wife  ? 
An'  mair  nor  that,  are  the  twa  no'  nearer  than 
ever,  an'  .  .  .  dearer  ? 

"  Ye  '11  be  sayin'  in  yir  hearts,  it 's  no'  for 
Jamie  Soutar  tae  be  speakin'  like  this,  him  'at 's 
been  alane  a'  his  days  ;  but  a  've  ma  ain  thochts, 
an'  the  deepest  thing,  ay,  an'  the  bonniest,  in 
the  warld  is  a  man  art'  a  woman  ane  in  love 
for  ever. ' '  The  Days  ofAuld  Lang  Syne. 

* 

December  24 

T7ORESIGHT  confers  distinction  on  every 
JL  effort  of  man,  and  raises  it  a  degree.  It 
elevates  economy  into  providence  ;  it  broadens 
business  into  enterprise ;  with  this  addition 
politics  become  statesmanship,  and  literature 
prophecy.  Life  gains  perspective  and  atmos- 
phere ;  it  is  reinforced  by  unseen  hopes  and 
rewards.  The  burden  of  the  future  becomes  a 
balance  in  life,  tempering  the  intoxication  of 
joy  with  the  cares  of  to-morrow,  and  softening 
the  bitterness  of  sorrow  with  its  compensations. 
Foresight,  sending  on  its  spies  into  the  land 
of  promise,  returns  to  brace  and  cheer  every 
power  of  the  soul,  and  becomes  the  mother  of 
all  hardy  and  strenuous  virtues,  of  self-restraint, 
and  self-denial,  of  sacrifice  and  patience. 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


December  25 

rT^HE  incarnation  was  an  act  of  sacrifice,  so 
JL  patent  and  so  brilliant  that  it  has  arrested 
every  mind.  It  was  sacrifice  unto  the  lowest 
and  therefore  life  in  the  highest,  an  outburst  and 
climax  of"  Life.  But  Creation  is  also  Sacrifice, 
since  it  is  God  giving  Himself;  and  Providence 
is  Sacrifice,  since  it  is  God  revealing  Himself. 
Grace  is  Sacrifice,  since  it  is  God  girding  Him- 
self and  serving.  With  God,  as  Jesus  declares 
Him,  Life  is  an  eternal  procession  of  gifts,  a 
costly  outpouring  of  Himself,  an  unwearied  suf- 
fering of  Love.  To  live  is  to  love,  to  love  is 
to  suffer,  and  to  suffer  is  to  rejoice  with  a  joy 
that  fills  the  heart  of  God  from  age  to  age. 

The  Mind  of  the  Master. 
» 

December  26 

IT  is  good  to  remember  that,  however  cold 
and  detached  from  life  any  doctrine  may 
seem  to  us  in  our  day,  it  must  once  have  ex- 
pressed the  profound  conviction  of  believing 
Christians,  and  that  the  kernel  contained  in  its 
husk  is  eternal.  There  is  no  doctrine  of  the 
first  order  which  does  not  enshrine  a  living  idea 
of  religion.  The  Cure  0/souls. 


December  27 

SIX  disciples,  and  for  them  all  one  Lord,  who 
unveils  Judas,  sending  him  forth  to  finish 
his  work  and  to  die  of  remorse;  who  rebukes 
the  self-confidence  of  Peter  and  foretells  his  bit- 
ter humiliation ;  who  takes  Thomas  by  the  hand 
and  leads  him  through  the  darkness ;  who  offers 
to  Philip  the  sure  evidence  of  His  life  and  works ; 
who  loosens  the  bonds  of  Judas  not  Iscariot,  and 
brings  him  into  a  large  place ;  who  satisfies  John 
with  Himself  and  His  love,  —  one  glorious 
Christ  who  is  unto  each  disciple  what  he  needed 
and  more  than  he  imagined,  a  place  of  "broad 
rivers  and  streams,"  Judge,  Saviour,  Prophet, 
Master,  Deliverer,  Friend.  The  Upper  Room. 

# 

December  28 

T  ESUS  also  believed  in  man,  and  therein  He 
J  differed  from  the  pessimists  of  His  own  day. 
The  Pharisees  regarded  the  mass  of  people  as 
moral  refuse,  the  unavoidable  waste  from  the 
finished  product  of  Pharisaism.  With  Jesus 
the  common  people  were  the  raw  material  for 
the  Kingdom  of  God,  rich  in  the  possibilities 
of  sainthood.  The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


December  29 

IF  a  minister  feels  it  his  duty  to  advance  any 
new  view,  his  style  of  speech  ought  to  be 
especially  cautious  and  considerate,  because  he 
must  give  a  shock  to  many  good  people,  and  is 
in  danger  of  shaking  the  faith  of  some.  When 
a  liberal  in  theology  is  bitter  and  intolerant,  it 
is  a  satire  on  his  position,  and  any  disaster  which 
follows  has  been  earned.  The  Cure  of  Souls. 


December  30 

IT  is  the  fond  imagination  of  many  pious 
minds  that  the  basis  of  spiritual  unity  must 
lie  in  the  reason,  and  stand  in  uniformity  of 
doctrine.  This  unfortunate  idea  has  been  the 
poisoned  spring  of  all  the  dissensions  that  have 
torn  Christ's  body,  from  the  day  when  Eastern 
Christians  fought  in  the  streets  about  His  Divin- 
ity to  the  long  years  when  Europe  was  drenched 
in  blood  about  His  lovely  Sacraments.  It  is 
surely  a  very  ghastly  irony  that  the  immense 
sorrow  of  the  world  has  been  infinitely  increased 
by  the  fierce  distractions  of  that  society  which 
Jesus  intended  to  be  the  peacemaker,  and  that 
Christian  divisions  should  have  arisen  from  the 
vain  effort  after  an  ideal  which  Jesus  never  once 
had  within  His  vision.  The  Mindofthe  Master. 


December  31 

"  A  'M  ready  noo,  an'  a  '11  get  ma  kiss  when 
£\.  mither  comes;  a'  wish  she  wud  come, 
for  a'm  tired  an'  wantin'  tae  sleep. 

"  Yon's  her  step  .  .  .  an'  she's  carryin'  a 
licht  in  her  hand;  a'  see  it  through  the  door. 

"  Mither !  a'  kent  ye  wudna  forget  yir  laddie, 
for  ye  promised  tae  come,  an'  a  've  feenished  ma 
psalm. 

"  And  in  God's  house  for  evermore 
My  dwelling-place  shall  be. 

"  Gie  me  the  kiss,  mither,  for  a  've  been 
waitin'  for  ye,  an'  a '11  sune  be  asleep." 

The  grey  morning  light  fell  on  Drumsheugh, 
still  holding  his  friend's  cold  hand,  and  staring 
at  a  hearth  where  the  fire  had  died  down  into 
white  ashes;  but  the  peace  on  the  doctor's  face 
was  of  one  who  rested  from  his  labours. 

Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier  Busk. 


'""P'HE  Kingdom  of  God  cometh  to  a  man 
_L  when  he  sets  up  Jesus'  Cross  in  his  heart, 
and  begins  to  live  what  Mr.  Laurence  Oliphant 
used  to  call  "the  life."  It  passes  on  its  way 
when  that  man  rises  from  table  and  girds  him- 
self and  serves  the  person  next  him.  Yester- 
day the  kingdom  was  one  man,  now  it  is  a 
group.  From  the  one  who  washes  to  the  one 
whose  feet  are  washed  the  kingdom  grows  and 
multiplies.  It  stands  around  us  on  every  side, 
—  not  in  Pharisees  nor  in  fanatics,  not  in  noise 
nor  tumult,  but  in  modest  and  Christ-like  men. 
One  can  see  it  in  their  faces,  and  catch  it  in  the 
tone  of  their  voices.  And  if  one  has  eyes  to 
see  and  ears  to  hear,  then  let  him  be  of  good 
cheer,  for  the  kingdom  of  God  is  come.  It  is 
the  world-wide  state,  whose  law  is  the  Divine 
will,  whose  members  obey  the  spirit  of  Jesus, 
whose  strength  is  goodness,  whose  heritage  is 
God.  The  Mind  of  the  Master. 


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